* Posts by Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

238 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Nov 2010

Page:

John McAfee dead: Antivirus tycoon killed himself in prison after court OK'd extradition, says lawyer

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Pirate

One of God's own prototypes

“There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”

― Hunter S. Thompson

Bono: Apple will sort out monetising music where the labels failed

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

.........

Pono > Bono

.............

Perhaps: Pro>Bono?

Or more likely, as my unsavoury friends around the East End of London did explain to me once:

When asked what they thought of said thing, they said: 'It's Pone!'.

'Pone?' I enquired.

'Yeah', they said - 'Pony and Trap - Crap, innit!'.

Indeed.

What a load of Pone!

Bro Pono!

This is a copropraxic's dream, only restrained by time.

Bono, Bro. You're Pone, Bro. Cui bono, Bono, Bro, you Pone! What you listening to on your Pone Pono, Bro, Bono?

Eh?

Yeah, you're Pone, Bono, Bro...

I'll give it up there, but I am sure a writer of greater talent than I could have a field day with this one.

My greatest fear is the fall of civilisation and people trying to hang the fellows from trees and lamp posts.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Thumb Up

Re: Load of codswallop.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you wander off to the SOS website, and dig around a bit, you'll find an excellent article on digital audio, that goes into the science in great detail.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Indeed. There is a mass of good info out there. Not the least the Xiph.org link I gave

It needs some thorough depth of research before any one can understand this stuff. And most do not take the time. That includes producers and even engineers, that fally prey to the same old myths. Many do not even know that there is a differerence between bit 'rate' and bit 'depth'. Let alone what they entail. But a few days studiously spent learning the basics pays dividends. You will forget it in your day to day work, but at least you will know there is a difference, and can adjust where needed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Short version -

16bit is a greater dynamic range than your ears can stand (taking into account room background).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yup. Exactly right again. I'm no authority on the subject, but I have studied it. More than most. This is the consensus of things. Both in scientific theory and experimentation (double blind testing of source files). That is why I said that 16bit is MORE than enough for end reproduction and listening.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

44.1kHz will definitely resolve up to 22kHz perfectly accurately.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem, I believe you are referencing here.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

So, to just play your music, a well mastered and recorded CD is all you need. Higher bit depth and sample rates are only needed if you're intending to go into music production.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Exactly right again. With regard to recording or production as it is now sometimes called - Higher bit depth up to 24bit pays major dividends and allows you to be slopppy with the dynamic range. This is a good thing as you can now play your instruments or sing very quietly or very loudly and there will be no overloads if you belt it out and if you decide to be quiet then the signal to noise ratio will be optimum.

Higher sampling frequencies seem to be more hotly debated as to their efficacy over all, relative to file sizes and whatnot. Me? I'm more than happy to just work at 24bit file size in my DAW, with the internal operations of said daw working at 32/64bit depending on which one I am using at the time. And a sampling frequency of 44.1KHz is more than enough as you have alluded to with the nyquist being at 22.05KHz which is far above what any human being on the planet can hear, no matter how young you are or how golden your ears.

I'm getting on too so can't hear a peep above 16/17KHz, but that's ok, most people can't and .mp3 Low pass filters everything above 17KHz anyway. No one knows, no one complains. It may be possible that a very young and discerning listener with perfect hearing could actually tell the difference, but so far, no tests have been done with anyone coming forward to achieve this in double blind tests.

Never say never. If you're over 25, forget about that anyway. There are many tests online to check your hearing and to also give you an average of your hearing loss as you get older. You will lose high frequency recognition but you will also lose low frequency recognition too, though not so much.

Psychoacoustics is an absolutely fascinating field, a bit like optical illusions for the ears. I never trust my eyes, my ears even less (masking and other reproducible phenomenon), and certainly never my brain.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: I'm puzzled

--------------

Apple (we infer) is developing a "an audiovisual interactive format for music

----------------------

Maybe I didn't understand the question.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Megaphone

Re: I'm puzzled

Not sure what your question is exactly.

Ogg is a great format, providing comparable quality to .mp3 at superior compression (smaller file size) rates. REAPER the DAW made by Cockos has it as a native format so that should tell you something. Justin Frankel was the genius coder that created a little program you might remember that changed the game, called WinAmp.

I think that's right, you can look it all up yourself - the info is out there in spades. Ogg was created by another genius coder. Check out:

Xiph.Org

Also find the essay on there why Neil Young has a screw loose and that higher sampling frequencies are counter productive due to inter modulation distortion.

No one needs more than 16 bits for playback. Anything more contributes to a waste of disk space and bandwidth. It is prudent to work at 24 bits when you are inside the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), because it gives you extra headroom and is very very difficult to overload, so it's ideal to give you a bit of wiggle room when recording. Having said that, the internal operations of the code that makes up the DAW work at 32 bit and even 64 bit I believe. Something to do with floating point operations and rounding errors that can exponentially get out of hand when doing DSP (Digital Signal Processing).

Again, I hope I got that right. I'm just a layman that takes an interest in these things and I enjoy talking to the code developers that actually write the algorithms for their Linear Phase or Minimum Phase Equalisers, say. Some of them are a bit gruff, but a surprising number are happy to explain as best they can.

At the end of the day, you can't get better quality than an .mp3 recorded at 320Kbps with CBR (Constant Bit Rate). Never in the history of the world has any human being been able to defeat a double blind test when comparing any other lossless format you might care to choose. Many consider LAME to be the best encoder.

-------------------------------------------------

Nowadays LAME is considered the best MP3 encoder at mid & high bitrates, and features the best VBR model among MP3 implementations

It has been developed by the open-source community since 1998, and has become the highest quality MP3 encoder for most purposes.

Some benefits of using LAME:

Highly optimised presets

Fast encoding

CBR, ABR and quality-optimized VBR encoding methods

Gapless playback with LAME-header compliant decoders

Supported by recommended CD rippers Exact Audio Copy and CDex

Highly tunable

---------------------------------------------------

Now there might be other arguments for using other formats, but why reinvent the wheel. MP3 and OGG are about as good as it gets.

I trot out the same old lines and say the same old things when it comes to this subject.

Some of the greatest sonic architecture ever created was mastered at less than 16 bit. See Robert Henke (Creator of Ableton Live) and his lecture, where he cites early Trevor Horn recordings being mastered to what iirc was actually only 14bit. Yes, they had to be bloody careful through the gain-staging of that to get such superb results. But that is why Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson are professional record producers/engineers.

The greatest sin against audio is the over use of Limiting at the mastering stage. Reducing the dynamic range to something that almost represents white noise in severe cases. This is why they sound great for five minutes but your ears/brain hurt after that. It is quite frankly intolerable if you like your music loud. Hence the 'Turn it up' campaign which I am a fervent supporter of.

There is a counter intuitive paradox with audio engineering and mastering of music, and that is if you want it louder, young Luke, you have to make it quieter. Raising the volume only makes people turn it down at the end of the chain. It is more complicated than that. But good gain-staging in essential even today to making great sounding recordings. Whether you work in 24 bit or even 32 bit. If you overload your DAC (Digital Analogue Converters) when you are recording in say, a vocal to your DAW, then it will always and forever be distorted whether represented in 16/24/32 bit format. Common sense.

Also different VST manufacturers set the standard output of their instruments (synths/drum machines) at different volumes. There is no consensus and the best producers need to keep an ear open for any offending software.

But really, it is a culture of fear. Look up the Loudness Wars. Many respected and revered people in the industry reckon that the Loudness War has been won and that things will get better. But I beg to differ, if by won you mean people turning their recordings down so we can play them LOUDER, then that doesn't seem to be borne out by the sheer number of amateur productions currently inhabiting the upper echelons of the top 10 stratosphere. Very often, these recording were produced with love and attention, then mixed maybe with the same (perhaps a bit more aggressively), but by the time it reaches the mastering house, their brief is to squash the life out of it, much to their chagrin. But hey, they're paid to be told what to do by the men at Sony that don't want a quiet record rotating on someone's iTunes.

Oh God, back to that monstrosity.

Apple are a very silly company in my eyes. Exploitative and what's worse, painfully uncool. It says a lot about our society as a whole that people think this marks them above the crowd. I'd pity them if I had the energy. Am I bitter? Yes. But not coz of Apple. Dr. Dre is the man in my books. Straight outta Cupertino

Seeing as you have indulged my ramblings so far, please stick with me while I take a moment to reflect on the gobshites that are U2. Bono specifically. He's spent far too long getting high on his own supply. That is air supply. The man is an oxygen thief of the highest order. Ok, Larry and Adam do it for the cash, nothing wrong with that. But Paul and David do it for the glory. The heady aroma of not just hob-nobbing with world leaders, but tech leaders such as Tim. They're probably only sorry it was not the original Jesus Jobs, but Tim will do. Not only does Tim look uncool, he says uncool things and commits uncool actions. He paid U2, probably the most embarrassing band on the planet to help promote his 'brand', and what's Dr. Dre got to say about this? Talk about coherency of vision.

I could ramble on for hours and go more in depth. I'm genuinely sorry coz U2 have made some of the best records ever recorded, working with geniuses such as Lanois and Eno. But I must be getting old, or Bono is becoming more of a gobshite, coz I can't listen to them anymore. Bad move Apple. It probably even makes some kind of business sense and has served some kind of purpose, but U2? Bono? Really.

And now they are talking about new formats if I got that right, maybe I didn't. I've actually gone past caring. Feel free to correct me or elucidate on any glaring points I might have missed.

Why does it take 8 hours for my posts to be approved?

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Why does it take 8 hours for my posts to be approved?

You're putting me off my stroke.

Was it something I said? Maybe it would be better to just ban me?

I thought El Reg had gone all 24 hour weekender?

Am I down on some kind of dissident list?

I really take a lot of time to post the shit I do here. I double check my sources, so you don't have to.

I might make mistakes, but what the hell is going on with you there?

I thought that posts would be automatically approved by known members and only trouble makers were vetted. I feel like I'm being worse than vetted.

Seriously, fucking sort it out.

Are you short staffed? Is it personal? I see others comments going through with no problem.

I would have sent you a personal mail, but you don't have one. I took half an hour out of my life to find it but couldn't. You will now smugly point me in the right direction. I hope.

Bjarne Stroustrup's haircut!

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Ballmer 0, Stroustrup 3 (HT)

Got it in one, my son.

If Bjarne could only hook up with John Le Carre's eyebrows, now that would be special. Super Bond Villain. He could just sit there and stroke a laptop or something for extra psycho effect.

Muttering under his breath: 'Compile my lovely! Compile!'.

(If you haven't seen John Le Carre's eyebrows, you owe it to yourself to google search now.)

Same league.

Ballmer 0, Stroustrup 3 (HT) - Pitch invasion by Le Carre who is also naked and streaking, just to show off his eyebrows a bit more. Even Stroustrup doesn't want to tackle him, Brian.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Cradle this thought for a minute

Imagine Steve Ballmer with this haircut!

Now put that thought out of your mind if you can. And sleep tight.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Bjarne Stroustrup's haircut!

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=bjarne+stroustrup&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=zs8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6NIAVOK8A4rF0QX_ioDYCQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=496

It's kind of special, ain't it?

Whatever your thoughts on C vs C++, it's hard not to admire this mans bonce!

It's almost as if he is a top dog crack crazed killer for a motorbike gang, and no one feels like mentioning to the 'Don' that well, a trip to the local hairdresser might be good for personal moral.

What do I know? I bet Bjarne gets all the **** he can handle. A Boss, as they say.

Sighs of "OOhhhh Mr. Stroustrup, you _REALLY_ do know how to code!".

Bjarne: "Better believe it bitch! And stop running your fingers through what is left of my hair. I don't want it to get messed up! I have a photoshoot tomorrow for my new book on 'Why C is not as good as C++', and I need to look my worst".

(Moans of "Peak!", "Poke!". If then, if not, go to....Now then Now then!)

Swoon.

City hidden beneath England's Stonehenge had HUMAN ABATTOIR. And a pub

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Large Pits?

Beer?

Body parts missing?

Nothing to see here - move along.

It's Friday night!

Women-only town seeks men

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Alert

If it sounds too good to be true..

Alright, dig it

Cold coolin' at a bar and I'm lookin' for some action

But like Mike Jagger said, 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction'

The girls are all around but none of them wanna get with me

My threads are fresh and I'm lookin' def, yo, what's up with L O C?

The girls all jockin' at the other end of the bar

Havin' drinks with some no-name chump

When they know that I'm the star

So, I got up and strolled over to the other side of the cantina

I asked the guy, why you so fly? He said, Funky Cold Medina

Funky Cold Medina

This brother told me a secret on how to get more chicks

Put a little Medina in your glass and the girls'll come real quick

It's better than any alcohol or aphrodisiac

A couple of sips of this love potion and she'll be on your lap

So, I gave some to my dog when he began to beg

Then he licked his bowl and he looked at me

And did the wild thing on my leg

He used to scratch and bite me before he was much, much meaner

But now all the poodles run to my house for the Funky Cold Medina

You know what I'm sayin'?

I got every dog in my neighborhood breakin' down' my door

I got Spuds McKenzie, Alex from Stroh's

They won't leave my dog alone with that Medina, pal

I went up to this girl, she said, Hi, my name is Sheena

I thought she'd be good to go with a little Funky Cold Medina

She said, I'd like a drink, I said, Ehm, ok, I'll go get it

Then a couple sips, she cold licked her lips

And I knew that she was with it

So, I took her to my crib and everything went well as planned

But when she got undressed, it was a big old mess, Sheena was a man

So, I threw him out, I don't fool around with no Oscar Meyer wiener

You must be sure that the girl is pure for the Funky Cold Medina

You know, ain't no plans with a man

This is the 80's and I'm down with the ladies

Break it down

Back in the saddle, lookin' for a little affection

I took a shot as a contestant on 'The Love Connection'

The audience voted and you know they picked a winner

I took my date to the Hilton for Medina and some dinner

She had a few drinks, I'm thinkin' soon what I'll be gettin'

Instead she started talkin' 'bout plans for our weddin'

I said, wait, slow down, love, not so fast, says, I'll be seein' ya

That's why I found you don't play around with the Funky Cold Medina

Ya know what I'm sayin'

That Medina's a monster, y'all

-----------------------------------

TL;DR - Sheena was a man!

Why has the web gone to hell? Market chaos and HUMAN NATURE

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Is Abandoning the Internet “The Next Big Thing”?

The Internet Slum, by John Walker:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/netslum/

=========================================

Donald Knuth, who's always at least a decade ahead of everybody else, abandoned E-mail on January 1st, 1990, saying “Email is a wonderful thing for people whose role in life is to be on top of things. But not for me; my role is to be on the bottom of things.”

==========================================

Posted 10 years ago and well worth a read as it's pertinent to the general discussion.

He finishes up:

============================================

I'm not ready to abandon the Internet, at least not right away. But I'm thinking about it, and I suspect I'm not alone. Those who have already abandoned it are, by that very choice, neither publishing Web pages nor posting messages about it; they are silent, visible only by their absence from the online community. Will early adopters of the Internet, who are in the best position to compare what it is today with what they connected to years ago, become early opters-out? Me, I'm keeping an eye on this trend—it could just be the next big thing.

===============================================

See also:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/digital-imprimatur/

How big brother and big media can put the Internet genie back in the bottle.

=====================================

Over the last two years I have become deeply and increasingly pessimistic about the future of liberty and freedom of speech, particularly in regard to the Internet. This is a complete reversal of the almost unbounded optimism I felt during the 1994–1999 period when public access to the Internet burgeoned and innovative new forms of communication appeared in rapid succession. In that epoch I was firmly convinced that universal access to the Internet would provide a countervailing force against the centralisation and concentration in government and the mass media which act to constrain freedom of expression and unrestricted access to information. Further, the Internet, properly used, could actually roll back government and corporate encroachment on individual freedom by allowing information to flow past the barriers erected by totalitarian or authoritarian governments and around the gatekeepers of the mainstream media.

======================================

True fact: 1 in 4 Brits are now TERRORISTS

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

For Don Jefe, genuine question

------------------------

Yes, stuff like this is terrible to watch. Seeing actual people actually get killed always sucks, even if you don't like the person who died. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the small numbers who watched the entire thing.

I see no point in people watching this sort of thing, but I see no point in criminalizing the viewing and sharing of it either. It is real, it did happen and to attempt to deny that by discouraging its viewing is just fucking stupid. If ignoring something made it not real then the aliens would stop coming into my bedroom at night.

---------------------------

Don Jeffe, I have a couple of questions here. They are both genuine questions without malice.

1: Did YOU actually watch the video yourself?

2: If you DID, then DID the video that you watched actually show the bit where they saw the head off?

Like I say, I am genuinely intrigued to know. Not because whether I care if you watch things like this. For the same arguments and logic that you have yourself put forward, with regard to the general morality of watching subect matter such as this, I agree with your viewpoint and therefore would find it ironic or paradoxical if you HAD watched the video. I didn't word that very well. I'm just trying to say that a man with such a viewpoint, might not want to see something like this. Maybe I got that wrong. I am just trying to clarify. For the important bit.

If you did watch the video, I would like to know if you actually saw the most horrific part.

I am just perplexed by your certainty and unwavering belief - 'It is real, it did happen' you said. I just want to know how you know that. Like I said, I don't believe anything unless I see it with my own two eyes and not even then sometimes.

As I said, these are genuine questions to you. I have something to learn from your answers, coz on the whole I do respect you and value your opinion. But this is not opinion I am looking for here, I am looking for the science stuff - data - binary, yes or no, black and white. They are two very easy questions and pretty unambiguous, so I eagerly await your reply.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Big Brother

They seem to be upping the ante lately

Lot of people very upset by this latest piece of psychological warfare/brainwashing.

Even the normally mild mannered El Reg seems to have a bit of niggle in its tone with this one.

For all of you people saying 'I have no doubt he was killed, but I haven't watched the video', can I just beseech you from the bowels of christ that maybe you are mistaken? If that doesn't work, I'll refer an argument to logic. You're clever kiddies. I hopefully don't need to spell this one out further for you.

I only believe what I see with my own two eyes. Certainly nothing I read in the MSM. Until I see a video of the guy having his head chopped off I will question it at least. Then again, I am a bit squeamish and actively avoid stuff like this. No amount of money could make me watch shit like this voluntarily.

When did it become acceptable to post snuff movies in the MSM and actually have government ministers condone this? Yet, a little later on, the same government ministers/ptb/authority are telling us we will all be guilty by association. Do you remember that large internet corporation actively promoting the last beheading video and 'the authorities' saying it was ok? It's not fucking ok. It has never been ok. I have gone my entire life without seeing shit like this and now you are pushing it to the masses? Where kids can see it? Fuck them seeing pictures of people fucking in fast motion, one still of this shit is enough to give a kid nightmares for years. How fucking dare you say it is ok.

They are just yanking our ding-dongs. It is legal to watch snuff movies in the MSM. It has always been illegal to watch snuff movies in the MSM. It is legal to watch snuff movies in the MSM. It has always been illegal to watch snuff movies in the MSM...

The uproar seems to be from the double standard being imposed, by those who are responsible in the first place for these events happening. It isn't the man on the Clapham omnibus going round slaughtering infidels. It is the government ministers and those in power who have shares in and fund the arms industry. That sign the papers to go to war. Or not as they case sometimes is. The whole lot is blowing up and something nasty is brewing in the air, because they just don't care any more. They can't govern by propaganda so they will govern by force.

I did come across some stills that someone posted in the alternative media and they did this without warning the fucking assholes, so I got to see what looked like someone's head chopped off. But here is the thing: I don't know if it was real or playmobil. It might have been either. I would have had to download it and test my forensics skills in photoshop to find out. No thanks! Not my idea of a good time.

But, I have it on good authority that no such video exists of the actual decapitation. Yes, there is a man standing next to another man, with a knife. But then it cuts (no pun intended) to just, well, the gruesome part. And no one anywhere has actually seen the act take place. Now, if you were going to all the trouble to shoot this in hi-def and broadcast it to the world to show what a fanatical badass you really are, you would have thought they would have included the best bit.

No one anywhere has actually seen this event take place. It may be that the guy really did have his head chopped off, but I question where this was done and just who actually did it.

And why is this an offence? Even though it isn't really. When I open up the Daily Mail I got all the snuff I need. The shit I have seen in there has been the most harrowing and worst kind of true pornography I have ever seen in my life. Victims of bomb blasts - limbs spread around - blood everywhere. A terrorist act that I had no part in. All without warning. Nothing to let you know what you were about to see. That kids could see. Does net nanny block the daily mail? So how is this video different? Fucking mind games or what.

So, if anyone has seen the video of this guy _physically_ being decapitated, then please do say, even anon coward. Then again you can't because there are laws against that now and you would be a criminal. Next there will be a law against us discussing it or giving our viewpoints on the matter.

It is hard to know whether they just over egg the pudding at the mind control for the masses dept. or whether they have it down to such a fine art, that they know just how to yank our chains, just so...

And the Beatles thing? People are getting very very angry. They are being goaded and shat on from a greater height than ever before and it's gone past insulting to threatening. This is NOT about one unfortunate man who might have been the victim of mad men. This is about control and manipulation of the masses. And everyone knows it.

If we hadn't already, we will be crossing the Rubicon very soon. Hold on to your hats, and your heads (pun intended) if you can. It's going to get hairy!

Kate Bush: Don't make me HAVE CONTACT with your iPHONE

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Boffin

Ironic really, but she does have a point

As the people here grow colder

I turn to my computer

And spend my evenings with it

Like a friend.

I was loading a new program

I had ordered from a magazine

"Are you lonely, are you lost?

This voice console is a must"

I press Execute.

Hello, I know that you've been feeling tired.

I bring you love and deeper understanding.

Hello, I know that you're unhappy.

I bring you love and deeper understanding.

Well I've never felt such pleasure

Nothing seemed to matter

I neglected my bodily needs

I did not eat, I did not sleep

The intensity increasing

'Til my family found me and intervened.

But I was lonely, I was lost

Without my little black box

I pick up the phone and go Execute.

Hello, I know that you've been feeling tired.

I bring you love and deeper understanding.

Hello, I know that you're unhappy.

I bring you love and deeper understanding.

I turn to my computer like a friend.

I need deeper understanding.

Give me deeper understanding.

Hello, police, El Reg here. Are we a bunch of terrorists now?

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Joke

Re: @ Pen-y-gors -- Manufactured story

---------------------------------------

Damn! Forgot to post as AC via my VPN - better go and hide in the garden shed now...

---------------------------------------

Mind the fert mix at the back and be careful when you're putting new batteries into the radio if you're going to listen to the cricket. And for god's sake don't light your bloody pipe!

</joke>

This was a joke, just in case anyone missed it.

I know nothing of Pen-y-gors' secret stash of home made expandables. That he keeps next to his secret stash of...

</another joke>

I don't even know if he likes cricket. Or smokes a pipe. Or if he might even be a she. That likes cricket. And smokes a pipe. Quite a thought though.

NEWSFLASH!

This is the BBC news. A shed was blown 60 feet into the air this evening and landed in a nearby garden 4 doors down. Killing the cat, but narrowly missing the family dog. The fate of the hamsters is unknown at this time. The floor of the shed was still intact and in place, having been securely and heavily nailed down by its owner, whose remains were still partly visible at the site of the tragedy. One hand was found with a Sherlock Holmes Smooth Original Briar Pipe still attached, and an earlobe attached to a small transistor radio, which also appeared to have what was left of the victims fingers, wedged half way into the battery compartment.

A police spokesman said, he believed the victim, or rather perpetrator was mixing a home made bomb for deployment at an undisclosed location, when, for reasons probably only known to the perpetrator himself, he decided to get high on his own supply of a shed mixed cocktail of crack, heroin and cocaine.

'He simply pushed the boat out too far, and obviously got his wires crossed', said another spokesperson.

'In all my thirty years of policing, this has been one of the most gruesome crime scenes I have had to attend', said a third. 'A wife has lost a husband, and a family has lost a cat. A garden has lost a shed. Let this be a warning to others, foolish enough to try something as dangerous as this'.

His wife said 'I never even knew he smoked', but I knew he was up to _something_ out there all the time.

Intel forced to shoot down viral 'Israeli boycott' whopper

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Thumb Up

Thorne, you raise several excellent points.

Those Palestinians aren't very bright, for one. One would have thought that they would have learned by now, but no, the penny still hasn't dropped for them.

The Palestinians are a weak people, cowardly even. To throw sticks and stones at Fighter Jets - the act of an impotent fool.

The Palestinians should learn their place. Getting all uppity and needed to be taught a lesson. That'll show them. Just a bit more to go now till they are all wiped off the face of the map and driven into the sea.

The Israelis are a proud and magnificent people A warrior race of heros. Their actions over the last weeks shall go down in history and become part of folklore for many years to come. Yes, future generations shall look on the works of the mighty and...?

"As terrible as what is happening in Gaza". But at least you are a man of compassion Thorne and can see both sides of the argument, and you are not biased in any way at all. Your humanity shone though that post of yours like a beacon of magnanimity for the rest of us emotionally challenged 'tards to follow.

If only others had your insight, especially those not too bright Palestinians, none of this would be happening. As terrible as what is happening in Gaza, you can't help but feel the pesky little upstarts brought it all on themselves, can you?

Can you, Thorne?

And that makes it all ok. Perhaps you even find a bit of glory in there too? Justice?

Forgot About Dre? Not us. Euro bods give nod to Apple and Beats deal

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Facepalm

Shit, wrong thread.

But there ya go.

We are never as clever as we think we are.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Look, it takes a nation of millions to hold us back...

Shit, wrong band. Ah well, that's the problem wit dem niggas wit attitude.

Enough of my best material. You haven't paid after all.

I just wanted to drop some science to the fuckwits.

I have wanted to do this about 5 times before, but the life blood was loosing (sic) out of me.

Look. You can fucking not tell the difference between a full on mp3 encoded at constant bit rate. What was it? 320Kilobitches or something. Fucked if I know. But you have less of a clue.

Look, if you think you can tell the difference between the highest encoding of MP3 and ANY OTHER LOSSLESS FORMAT YOU CARE TO MENTION INCLUDING WAV OR FLAC, then please do get in touch. We have a place in the Circus for you. That's right, all you so called audio high end buffs, you make yourself out to be buffoons - you can NOT tell the difference. FACT.

I'm being serious about this. If you do think you can tell the difference between a 320K Mp3 and your whatever format of choice, get in touch with the fellas at the Register - you know this rag you are reading. And I will personally organize a test with the biggest players in the game that will pay you 10,000 Dollars/Pounds/Euros, if you can tell the difference.

I am calling you out on your bullshit. Yes, all you fuckwits that work in the audio industry and have had hit records - you can not fucking do it so shut the fucking fuck up, ok?

Or else, organise a time with yer man at the Register and we will have this out once and for all.

One of the names I can say will be down, will be Image-Line, they will definitely put up the money if you can tell the difference.

Let us be clear.

You can not tell the difference between a 320KBs Mp3 compared with any other format of your choice (wav. flac.) if you can - you win a very big amount of money and go into the history books, and cause all the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) books that have been printed so far to be recalled and reprinted and redistributed.

Any one up for it?

Some one in the recording industry maybe? Someone that makes records? I thought not.

So, now, just shut the fuck up!

K.

NSA man: 'Tell me about your Turkish connections'

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Day of the Jackal

Are you getting all steamed up?

(Before he gets it along with the Lobster)

We need to talk about SPEAKERS: Sorry, 'audiophiles', only IT will break the sound barrier

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

All of this is true

Yes.

But there are many paradoxes.

Another RAT crawls out of the malware drain

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
IT Angle

Some mitigation

Hitman Pro Alert has a free and pretty much totally transparent protection against browser exploits.

http://www.surfright.nl/en/alert

It covers Zeus and a whole load more and it is pretty much compatible with whatever other AV or AM security you have. It even works with Opera and Dragon! No reason not to have it as a layer in your armour.

For a more comprehensive security suite package, for less than a tenner on ebay, you can buy a license for 3 machines for a year, for WSA AntiVirus (2014) for PC and Mac:

http://www.webroot.com/gb/en/home/products/av

---------------------------------------

Identity Protection protects you from identity theft and financial loss. It ensures that your sensitive data is protected, while safe-guarding you from keyloggers, screen-grabbers, phishing schemes, and other information-stealing techniques.

-------------------------------------------

http://www.webroot.com/us/en/support/how-to-updates

------------------------------------------

The Phishing Shield identifies and blocks fake websites that trick you into entering your personal information. As you browse, URLs are evaluated in real time for phishing risk. Analysis includes looking at page content, domain reputation and numerous other factors.

---------------------------------------------

Webroot do other more expensive premium packages that also include an encrypted password manager (which is not included in this particular version, but they only cost a few quid more.)

This is pretty much the most lightweight and invisible, but powerful and flexible AV/AM you can get. It also covers rootkits. It is based on the old PrevX scanner which was very highly regarded too. The scans with this are BLAZING fast. This is one of the more popular security suites in the security community. It has an amazingly small footprint on system resources as well. EXTREMELY SMALL.

BE WARNED THOUGH - it has resource spiking issues in Win8, which they are trying to resolve, but for the moment I would avoid this like the plague if you use that OS, but XP or Win7, no problems at all!

Happy Loggies if you already knew about this, but not everyone does.

So for less than a tenner, you can protect your desktop, your laptop, and your wife's laptop (or whatever) for a year. Just don't forget to download and install that Hitman Pro Alert as well.

Fast, cheap, transparent, lightweight protection.

You may want to consider an Anti-Keylogger as well if you are pushing the boat out. Zemana is de rigeur this season, with many using the paid for version, but there is a free one too and a trial:

http://www.zemana.com/product/antilogger-free/overview/

That also comes highly regarded by many in the know. But maybe you already knew that. You know.

I'm not sure how much you would need the Zemana tool as well, as the Webroot AV Suite has an Anti-Keylogger built in. So it might be over kill, but if you already use other AV, it is always good to have something like this as an extra layer of defense, if you don't have one already. Something to consider. I was surprised by how many security nuts have one of these on top of everything else. They obviously feel it is worth paying for. I trust in the one that comes with WSA-AV-2014, but not everybody uses that particular software obviously.

With those three tools at your disposal, you would have a very high level of security in regard to banking online.

Disclaimer: I don't work for or have family or friends at those companies.

Apple Fanbois are the biggest pervs, say people who know

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Coat

This doesn't surprise me at all

Because everyone I know that uses a PC is too busy trying to fix it, because it 'just doesn't work'.

Seriously though, I knew a few techs for apple that lived in London and they would go out and help install and troubleshoot stuff, at great cost to the customer, of course. One of them even got to eat a bit of Nigella's cake! Ooh err.

They opened me up to a whole new world of filth and nastiness that I just never knew existed. Sites like B'd up dot com. Horrible horrible shit. Total porn dogs.

And they seemed such nice boys when I first met them in the pub in Tottenham. Then again, they were from the West Country.

Facebook exec: I HATE the INTERNET and I REALLY hate journalism

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Pint

I know how he feels

Present company excepted, of course.

Spotify boasts 10 million paying subscribers ... Um, is that all?

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Buying from the label?

With all due respect, and you deserve more respect than most if you spend that kind of money on music -

It is not about you. It is about the people that make the music.

Have a look here:

https://krisweston.com/

Kris, if you didn't know, was the man behind The Orb.

He has a lot to say on the state of the art. He's damned entertaining and pretty hand with a BASH, PERL, or Python script too: https://krisweston.com/index.php/tech/

Hell. He's more of a hacker than half the people that visit El Reg.

But times are hard. It is not longer enough to be a musical genius in the right place at the right time.

Kris has some pretty strong views and some very strong thoughts against bandcamp and alternatives you might find are better.

Hit him up. Sub him a fiver and get an exclusive copy of his new album. If it ever gets made.

Who gives a fuck, you can all have fun watching him fail, if that is your thing, too.

Help a chin, do people's heads in.

Buying from a label?

No one does that any more.

This is the 21st Century.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Windows

No one wants to pay for music any more:

... At least if they can help it. Jeez, it's bad enough paying for software. Just think of all your overheads - new hard drive: check - new laptop/tablet: check - new iPhoney with super duper minutes to all your best pals: check. What is a girl gonna do?

Certainly not pay for any fucking music. Software, ok, if you have to, but in the immortal words of the good Ian Paisley: NEVER! For music. No.

Not even a fiver?

NEVER!

A year?

Ney, Ney and Thrice Ney!

Sorry, the good Reverend has seemed to morph into the good Frankie. It's all good.

The Spotify model is not working and it won't ever work. It will fold in a year or three. It's being propped up by the majors, and when I say 'props', we aren't talking Westwood here. Then again, when I say 'majors', I probably should have said 'minors'.

Crisis all around. The majors were good for one thing. Not anymore. Now they are just being spiteful, what is left of them. We need them, but they are too insulted and dumb to take a hint. No, they will just keep crashing and burning. They missed a trick. Or two.

They had the cash and the contacts to create and invest in major infrastructure. They didn't. That boat has sailed. It ain't coming back. So, we all know where it went wrong. How to put it right?

Spotify will fail. It is contemptible. It is hated by artists and musicians and anyone that needs to pay the rent. Shit, at least before you could take your chances with a big major and IF you did hit it big, it might not have been mansions and swimming pools, but maybe a nice house/car. Allowing you to carry on crafting your art. It's all been sabotaged. Does no one else see a correlation between crap music and the loss of control from the major record industry? Honestly, if this is Rock 'n' Roll, I want my old job back. That was paraphrasing the Saw Doctors there.

I think I might be off on a bit of a rant.

Don't stop me know!

I'm having such a good time!

I'm.. never mind..

Where were we? Ah yes, I was ranting, you were humouring me.

The good days are gone and they aren't coming back.

The future is not what they said it would be.

But still, more and more money ploughed in. Debt grows deeper. Technology makes it simpler and faster to share music files. New generations don't even see it as a bad thing. They demand it even. With their bad haircuts and bad taste. It would be easy to beat on them. They aren't all as dumb as they seem.

Let's follow this flow chart through to the next say five/ten years. Where do you think we will be then? How many Ed fucking Sheridan records do you think the world can take?

The point is, no one cares anymore. This might take a while to register. But it will hit home in a big way in the next few years. Nobody cares. Music is not music anymore, and I am heartened by true music lovers that say: All music is crap these days. Because it is. And they talk about all the good stuff (that is even happening today, but is not mass market enough to make a difference). So I believe them.

It is just about accountants now (when was it never just about accountants and lawyers, I hear your cry?).

I am really sticking my neck out here and I expect it to be swiftly and violently chopped off. I'm hoping not, but I fear the worst.

There is a back catalogue of music that is listenable before the digital limiter/maximiser was invented. And too many people have too much money vested in maintaing that. The rest will just keep on fleecing the sheeple.

Fuck me. An Ian Paisley quote. Frankie Howerd. And bleedin' Gurdjieff thrown into the loop too.

Can't ask fairer than that.

Just be thankful I did not quote that wanker Thom Yorke (even if he technically is on our side coz he doesn't like Spotify very much either, but not because it doesn't take his music to a wider audience, but because he doesn't get as big a slice of the cake as he used to when he joined the music industry when it was in its last glory days, and he was getting paid in full like a mofo - ok, he doesn't get paid at all now, but still, shut up Thom boy!)

This rant may not be my finest hour. But, as culture and society sink into oblivion, I just felt I had to say something. Even if none of it makes sense.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, any ole fule with an inerwebnitz connection can call up the youtubers and get anything they want, faster than a mole can be whacked. And download it to their hd/usb stick/iPhoney for posterity. For free. And youtebntizz just loves this. Keeps on selling the advertising, cross fertilizing the collateral maintained, then selling that again. And you all feel so smug about getting a little naughty something for nothing.

Even if it was just the vids that have a 100,000 hits - not uncommon - a fraction of that payed to an artist could mean the difference of paying the rent for the month or not. No small matter, when the matter at hand is paying the rent for the month. But too much is being made off too many. Google/youtube will never sort out a micro payment system. They will keep on infringing copyright with their system. And we will all dumbly think that we are reaping the benefits, when it is just the whirlwind.

All I know is, this system will not be changing in our immediate lifetime. It is entrenched enough now that I feel I can make that assertion. There is too much work out there by too many people to be exploited, a fatter goose to be plucked you will not find. And to even begin paying what is due to those it is due to, well that is just not on, just like giving power to people by giving them a vote that can change things. That is never done.

Too much easy money to be made from too many dumb people.

Spotify? A distraction.

I know not of one distribution mechanism in these wonderful days of the internet that even three musicians/songwriters/producers can agree on.

That last statement was a bit too Frankie Howerd for my liking.

I think I'll stop there.

(Sorry about the spelling in this instance, but why worry about the style when the content was so lacking, eh?)

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: 10 million is quite a lot of people.

--------------------

What's this article about - and what's the point being made here?

-------------

There is no point. No one knows what is going on. Everyone is losing money. Everyone is still rich. The music is still getting made.

EBAY... You keep using that word 'ENCRYPTION' – it does not mean what you think it means

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

I only registered with ebay yesterday, afer avoiding it my whole life. I needed some stuff I couldn't get anywhere else coz they have a monopoly on the second hand market.

I was thinking to myself 'how safe is this? - better make a good password - imagine if ebay got hacked and all those passwords got into the wild', as you do.

Little did I know that half an hour later I would see on the front page of the BBC - ebay accounts hacked.

I am assuming I am safe. But they give no time frame from when people were vulnerable to when they were safe. What a piss poor organisation. A monopoly. And they abuse it as such.

WHOMP! There it is: IBM demos 154TB tape

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Pirate

Corp. Tape is skill in storage

On my way. No need to shove!

Dropbox defends fantastically badly timed Condoleezza Rice appointment

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Interesting timing

I'm glad you picked up on that.

He was the red herring.

Good to see there is some stout life around here yet.

Give that man a raise.

It could have been worse.

I might have said Ronny Raygun.

Imagine the hilarity that would have ensued after that.

-----------------

a nation of probably about 200 million homicidal maniacs and you pick carter?

---------------------

I've got a bit of a mad men moment going on here. You are Don Draper and I am demoted to Pete Campbell.

I'm sorry Don. Did that offend you?

:-)

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Windows

Interesting timing

Winxp dies. Baam!

Heartbleed surfaces. Whump!

Dropbox loses its mind and commits suicide. Guffaw!

What a week!

From the school of propaganda that says 'hit them with it quick, do not relent, turn their world upside down, teach them that everything they have ever known is wrong, make them question their most intrinsic, integral beliefs, hit them with it again, till they are reeling from the shock and arguing amongst themselves, even with themselves'.

Maybe not. Just a thought.

Still, interesting timing.

This would not have stood a year or two ago. They are preparing us for insanity.

I doubt there are any terrorists left now.

I mean.

No XP. We all know what cheapskates the bombers are, spending their money on aluminium powder and chippati flour. No cash for OS upgrades. Wide open.

And for the clever ones using encryption: All your secrets are belong to us! OpenSSL. Right out in the open it would seem.

And finally, Condy. If you put it in a novel, it would be rejected as too absurd. But this is the reality they have for us now.

DropBox just got TonyBlaired. They wanted him, but he wasn't available. Condy was the next best alternative. They snapped her up. Third place was either William Hague or Jimmy Carter.

Good job I don't keep my revolutionary plans on there. Just a few patches, nothing of importance.

Not that I have any revolutionary plans, of course.

Disclaimer:

This post might not make much sense. Almost as if I was winging it and making it up as I went along. Fair cop. I was just trying to get into the spirit of things.

NSA denies it knew about and USED Heartbleed encryption flaw for TWO YEARS

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Trollface

In other news...

The Queen of England denied reports she has been shagging her beloved Corgis for decades.

"Any similarity between my beloved and Prince Charles is purely coincidental, said her Maj".

France bans managers from contacting workers outside business hours

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Thumb Up

'Do you work to live or live to work'

I don't fucking work at all.

Solves that little dilemma for me.

Spy-happy Condoleezza Rice joins Dropbox board as privacy adviser

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
WTF?

Fox in the Hen House

Er, do you think Condy reads the Reg?

<Whack> <Smack> <Crack>

"I'm sorry Mrs. Rice, I didn't mean iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Urghhhhhhhhhh. Splutter. Gurgle."

</Whack> </Smack> </Crack>

"Drop him in the box boys"...

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Boffin

WTF?

$date = '01/04/2014' ? $laugh : $cry;

Cheat Win XP death: Your handy guide to keeping snubbed operating system ticking over

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
FAIL

I'll bite.

-------------

A lot of people* sticking with XP are doing so because they are too tight to buy a new OS or a new PC or just too lazy to do anything about it.

---------------

You must be one of them there computer nerds. Perhaps even a geek. Yeah, probably a geek.

I'm sure some are sticking with XP because they are too tight, but maybe also because they are a bit skint. Or horror of horrors, it does everything it needs to do, is working perfectly and after a while of figuring it all out, it is going to mean a major upheaval and a new learning curve to tackle. Then again, you may also be right when you say they are too lazy. No law against laziness last time I looked.

But where your major oversight is, I think, in the fact that microsoft have not provided a pain free alternative. And by them slowly moving the goalposts bit by bit with the changing of APIs and the purposeful obsoleting of hardware in collusion with the hardware manufacturers (win/win for both of them - microsoft get to sell more software - the hardware vendors more hardware), we have now reached a point where the bluffs are being called all around. It's the software vendors I feel most sorry for, if there is an innocent party in this unholy shitstorm, they are probably least to blame and the most held to ransom to go along with it all.

Unless it has escaped your attention, microsoft once attaining the full monopoly have not just used their customer base for experimentation, they have corralled them into a pen for total control and submission. They have created an OS that is intended to be used on mobile touch screen devices, all because what they have is not enough for them, they want MORE, seeing the riches being gained by their rivals. They want it ALL. Good old fashioned greed. They have basically told their Most Valued Professionals to go and fuck themselves. Dedoimedo for one example was noting what a cluster fuck win8 was 2 (TWO) years ago. And he is a big microsoft fan, giving credit where credit is due to them. Look up his tutorials and viewpoints on system hardening in windows via EMET.

I will speak for myself here. I am happy to use win7. It is a hog. Illogical at times. And not very customisable (you can't change the glaringly white background of an explorer window for example without slipping into classic mode, which is what I run all the time making my win7 resemble something more akin to bleeding win95). But it works well, very well for the most part with the myriad of Audio software I own and use. In fact, I am forced into using win7, because the software devs were forced into only supporting it via the change of APIs. And not all of them have come up to speed. It is actually another unholy cluster fuck with virtual folders being employed because microsoft says 'naughty naughty' bad software and slaps it down to the naughty step. So a lot of Audio software is in transition. It won't work on xp, but it still does not work perfectly well on win7. I digress.

So, when forced to use win7, I use win7, and for software that will not work on win7 but will only work on xp, I use xp. Microsoft totally, willfully split it down the middle. No transition. Disruptive technology, indeed. And that is just xp/win7, win8 is another level of hurt again.

If I have spent thousands of pounds (literally) for software (I don't use cracks except for research [No, really, I do not use cracks in production, only to test in certain circumstances]), why should I just suddenly say, oh, never mind, put it all in the bin, forget about it. Spend another couple of thousand to upgrade? If I had the money I would still not appreciate being held to ransom. I don't anway as it goes, but I want to keep on using the software I LOVE, that I have spent years learning how to use to a professional level.

And this is without getting into the hardware that I have that will not work on win8 because of lack of drivers. Yes, that old chesnut. Still getting away with it.

But that's just me. Most of the people you have maligned just want to stick with xp because they have games or industrial software that will not RUN on new systems, be that because of the software being 16-bit or a lack of drivers.

------------------

As such this advice means nothing to the majority of XP users.

-------------------

Not sure what your point is here, so I'll stop 'biting' now.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Dear author

--------------------

The Windows 7 XP Mode VM on the other hand, is provided free of charge for Windows 7 licence holders (effectively it is included in the cost of the Windows 7 licence). So if you are using it and don't have a Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate/Enterprise licence then you are quite definitely in the legal wrong. If you have a Windows 7 Pro/Ultimate/Enterprise licence but are using the XP Mode VHD within Linux then I would suggest that that is another of those questionable legal/moral issues.

--------------------

Ah. That is sort of what I expected and how I pretty much look at it, not knowing any better.

I don't use it for production (though I aim to one day) and it is strictly for private/educational use.

I am curious now about this XP Mode in win7. I think I am going to have to try it out. Not sure if you even need to put in a serial no. for it. Not sure how it works at all. Or if it even will be accessible in Linux. I'm sure it won't take long to figure out. If I did get a working VM up, I wouldn't bother with it in Linux anyway. I have enough VMs and am seriously running out of disk space. I made a separate 50GB partition for VMs and that has practically all been eaten up now, just keeping what is left for the dynamic re-sizing. Surprising how much extra space gets eaten up when you start playing about and installing extra crap (beyond the size of the crap you install).

Anyway, whether in Linux or win7, both the winxp images just absolutely fly along. So no need to use Linux in this case.

I'm just looking at buying a bog standard Dell system for someone. And they aren't just technophobes, but computerphobes. They HATE computers. They can barely switch the thing on or off. They will lose all their programs if I get win8 for them, otherwise I would. One benefit of being totally ignorant and not having any understanding of how a computer works is, that when the goalposts are moved, it makes no difference to them. They switch it on, start firefox, log onto facebook. And they play their games. And that is it.

So I'm going to get them the win7 Pro license and then set them up with XP Mode. Not sure how it will work with connecting to the printer, but we'll see. Seems perfect for them otherwise.

Do you know, I didn't even know there was an XP Mode in win7 and I've had it a couple of years?

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Dear author

----------------------

"The author gave the caveat that the virtual XP machine should only be used to run the existing old software that won't play nice with Win7 etc"

He certainly did, but you've got to get that old software onto the VM somehow. We're talking about a new XP install in the VM here, not a virtualisation of the one you already have the software installed on.

-----------------------

Sorry, I'm probably being dense and just not getting it, but why can't the whole xp shebang be done perfectly legally through the win7 pro setup - download, install of software etc. - and then, once set up and you have a new legal working xp VD, what law is there that states that that image can not be accessed by VBox or whatever in Linux?

I often switch between using my VDs in both Linux and Win7 and tweaking as I go. Proof of concept more than real world usage as I'm new to all this, but still. Am I actually breaking the law by accessing an xp VD from VBox, even though it is on the same machine/physical drive and is a legitimately licensed copy? Serious question. I'm not using the win7 xp virtual mode, it is an old boxed copy that I bought from Tottenham Court Rd. years ago, and that is no longer used on any machines. Shouldn't make a difference anway, should it?

Don't tell me after all this money I have spent and given to one of the biggest companies in the world that I am being criminalised, after great effort, trouble and expense to remain on the straight and narrow.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Dear author

"If you must have XP then buy a Windows 7 Professional and run XP Mode legally in that."

He/they, chances are, already have that license, making it morally ok in my book to run XP in Linux. Whether it is technically legal is another matter. We could argue about this ad nauseum. I don't even disagree with parts of your viewpoint. But if I had a previous OEM license that I could no longer technically use because I don't own that software, merely license it, and I am in fact following that diktat, and go to all the trouble of buying win7 Pro which includes the new XP license for the purposes as mentioned, then who is going to dob me in if I just have a little tinker 'round in me ol' Linux install? It's not as if you could possibly use both at the same time anyway, being booted into one os or the other.

"Then as new versions of your old software become available you can install them in your Windows 7 installation and phase out your XP Mode VM."

Not really. New versions of the software don't become available because microsoft moved the goalposts and changed the APIs. Not to mention native 16-bit/32-bit/64-bit compatibility. That is why some of us NEED to do this time consuming bullshit, because we have no other choice, if we choose to use our otherwise obsolescent software. Not because it's fun, or hacking or any of the other golden age of computing rationales. In fact, I know of people that have actually upgraded their software and choose to use the 'older' version out of preference, and there is no way that will run in win8 without a VM because it is 16-bit. The new crappier version just sits in the draw unused.

Just like microsoft, they took something that worked perfectly well and ballsed it up and no one wants to use it now. This is another argument, granted, but, pertinent, I feel. Amelioration is the name of the game. A word I fear that is not in their comprehension. Instead, they re-invented the wheel. Guess what? It was not an improvement, and now we are left with this clusterfuck of either abandon your old software that you need/love, OR upgrade to new versions and abandon your old software that you need/love, OR possibly find some kind of way to keep that software running despite the drain on your wetware resources to do so.

I agree in principle with your first point, if not in spirit.

As to your second point, well, I just thought I would point out some alternative views.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: not to diss open source software

Well, I have only ever used VBox, but the winxp VDs I have set up, absolutely blaze along on a very mediocre laptop that is very sluggish with win7. And this is running VBox off of Knoppix7 off a USB stick. No complaints at all.

I'm going to be trying VMWare next though now I've got my head around cloning and re-sizing disks in VBox and whatnot. Even set up a shared disk and usb for transferring stuff. Works remarkably well in win7 too. I should use it more really. It's night and day in terms of speed when surfing, plus the extra security it provides.

And a browser is a browser is a browser pretty much. You forget you are in a VM. Whether that VM was started off a usb stick in Linux or your hard disk in windows. Plus being able to transfer stuff you download is a major convenience. It is also a security risk too, I suppose, and that is why I have a couple of VMs, one with a shared disk and one without which is locked down and isolated.

If VMWare turns out to be faster than VBox, I will be most pleasantly surprised.

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

Re: Or Another Way

Taken from the VMware vCenter Converter pdf

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Third-party virtual machines or system images

Acronis True Image Echo 9.1 and 9.5, and Acronis True Image Home 10 and 11

(.tib).

Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery (formerly LiveState Recovery) 6.5, 7.0, 8.0,

and 8.5, and LiveState Recovery 3.0 and 6.0 (.sv2i format only).

Norton Ghost version 10.0, 12.0, and 14.0 (.sv2i format only).

Parallels Desktop 2.5, 3.0, and 4.0 (.pvs and .hdd). Compressed disks are not

supported.

Parallels Workstation 2.x (.pvs). Compressed disks are not supported. Parallels

Virtuozzo Containers are not supported.

StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop, ShadowProtect Server, ShadowProtect Small

Business Server (SBS), ShadowProtect IT Edition, versions 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.1, and 3.2

(.spf).

The Microsoft VHD format for the following sources:

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 and Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 (.vmc) Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 and 2005 R2 (.vmc)

-----------------------------------------------------

So yeah, 11 and earlier, but not as early as 8, which I have a load of images for. Bummer. I'd really love to find a way to make a Virtual Disk out of them. It would save me a lot of time and trouble rebuilding them. Maybe there is a way.

Ancient Earth asteroid strike that dwarfed dinosaur killer still felt today

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Thumb Up

Re: Assuming that..

Well, I wasn't being entirely serious. Just rapping on a muse, man.

I've heard that theory about the birds being the modern day dinosaurs. I suppose they had to come from somewhere. They lay eggs. Not sure where the whole reptile thing comes into it, but if people more knowledgeable than me say it is so, I'll believe them, until I maybe one day do my own research and come to another conclusion.

As for the crows. I know. Fascinating creatures. They can talk you know? Only one or two words, but still, very impressive. Even my dog can't do that. Well, apart from 'sausages'. I watch the little buggers around here sometimes. Magnificent creatures. They occasionally have a little sortie where an invading party of about 10 or so swoop down. There is a commander of course. He's the big black burly bastard with the beak. There is a scout looking out for protection. A few underlings being trained up in the art of warfare. They collect bits of material for their nest. When they find something suitable, they put it to one side in a pile, go and gather some more, then when they have what they need, they pick it all up and fly off. They are like the SAS, they just get in, then they get out. This all takes about five minutes. They don't hang about.

But the talking thing is still more impressive. In our language. Of course they have their own language. I can hear them screaming/communicating now. Haven't a clue what they are saying. But it is a structured language of that I have no doubt. Crows have a very hierarchical system as far as I can tell from observing them from around here. Beyond the family unit, I mean. They really are like a little army.

You must have seen that viral viddy on utubez with the crow on the snow covered slanty roof, using a jar lid or somesuch to skate down, and then he would pick it back up again, go to the top, skate back down. Hilarious. You can fly, but you think it might just be fun to 'play' for a while doing something a bit different. That is where learning comes from. Curiosity. Exploration. Higher intelligence.

Anyway, I didn't mean to malign the dinosaurs. There may have indeed been some nice ones. And maybe they did have an intelligence far more advanced than we suspect or are able to detect. It is entirely possible that one or two even made their way around to a bit of tool use. We shall never know.

And apologies for calling them nasty. You are right again. That's just where they were at on the evolutionary scale of things. Being carnivorous as opposed to the many herbivorous ones around, needing to eat meat was a problem only really solved by killing other animals for their flesh. Nothing personal. Where as with humans as you so duly note, it is a choice we make. There are alternatives for most people. I exercise that choice, personally speaking.

But it is not just the eating of animals for food and sustenance that makes man nasty. I think that can be forgiven. Evolution wise we have come a long way very quickly, a little bit too quickly in fact, which is why we are at the point we are at now and having the problems we are having now as a species. No, the eating of meat is still understandable. But the mistreatment and torture of animals for fun and profit is not. I doubt the dinosaurs ever engaged in any such behaviour. Hell, we even torture those of our own species purely for fun. Yes, there are good among us. Many. But I can't help feeling that whatever comes after homo sapiens is going to have to be an improvement. Who knows.

Either Man is going to travel to the stars and find new homes. Evolve. Or he is not. We have another few thousand million years to figure it out. Well, not really that long. The next Ice Age, soon to be upon us is going to be a right bugger. That will sort the men from the boys. But being optimistic...

And what is Man planning in mitigation for this next Ice Age? Nothing as far as I can tell. Man has no vision beyond maybe a few generations down the line where his legacy will still be felt. Pictures on the wall of 10 generations of sons.

There is no cooperation of the species. Man is clever. Certainly too clever for his own good. But not as clever as he thinks.

Man should start getting it together. A good project would be the detection and obliteration of asteroids/meteors. He can go on murdering and slaughtering his fellow Man in the meantime. But it would be a start. (I have no worries about a big rock from space landing on my head, btw.)

Like they say in Game of Thrones - "Winter is soon to be upon us".

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Coat

Re: Assuming that..

You're probably right!

I hadn't really thought it through.

I shall refrain.

Desist.

And stfu.

But I can dream can't I?

(Anyway, if you're going to be clever about it, virii are even smaller than scorpions, certainly not as clever, and a whole lot nastier)

:-)

In a brave new world. With just a handful of virii. They'll start -They'll start all over again - all over again - all over again - all over again...

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Alien

Assuming that..

...the dinosaurs weren't very bright, and rather nasty to boot, AND, that humans are a bit brighter, and slightly less nasty, can we find a correlation between 'size/cleverness/nastiness'?

So, the bigger you are, the dumber you are, and the nastier you are. Conversely, the smaller you are, the more intelligent you are, and the nicer you are.

There is a myth that man's main purpose and imperative is the propagation of the species. That might have been true once, but now we have pornhub and overpopulation, it's a new day. BFO rocks flying about at speed through space, and all it will take is one whopper to do for us all. No more pornhub!

If man was truly still directed by the imperative of the propagation of the species, would he not be doing something to mitigate against this albeit low probability, but high significance event? So he can keep on watching pornhub?

But let's assume the human species just ain't no god damned good in the universal scheme of things and God's holy eyes, just like those nasty brutish and dumb dinosaurs were. And so he has to go. What next? Now, assuming that man is basically along the lines of a cross between a rat and a pig (some people are more like rats, others more like pigs, others again resembling both) in the macroscopic scale of things, can we assume than another animal another order of magnitude smaller than us again is prepped to take over? The Ants! The Bees! And mutant variations there of when all the spent nuclear fuel gets released into the biosphere and birth defects and darwinism take over. Give it a few hundred thousand years, say.

So, now what we have, assuming our correlation is correct, is smaller, more intelligent, nicer creatures. God is having another shot at it. Saying to himself/herself 'Let's see how much I fuck it up again this time'.

There are no laws of the Universe that says this can't happen. They can evolve intelligently more and more and considering that they already have the cooperation genes built in, they would have a head start in the long term game compared to us dumber and nastier less cooperative souls.

They could build and evolve the structures that they are already used to building. Think of a termite mound but in the shape of the Burj Al Khalifa, built with stronger and more eco friendly materials, and populated by more worthy inhabitants.

Sure, they might not reinvent the wheel, or the TV or the internet, but they might have no need of it, already having other communication systems in place. In the same way that they might not even need aeroplanes, already being able to fly. They might develop things we could not even dream of.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Just a silly thought.

Then again, at that macroscopic scale, they'd be pretty buggered if they did want to cooperate and build an anti-asteroid shield, I suppose. Maybe we are God's chosen few after all. Let's not fuck this up as well. Remember, no life, no internet, no pornhub!

Say WHAT? ATVOD claims 44k Brit primary school kids look at smut online each month

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

someone was spying on these kids ?!?!?!

For Mad Mike. (Don't know why they call you Mad Mike - don't want to know - any friend of Big Herb's is a friend of mine). Anyway..

I was thinking this the other day when I was studying Wolfsbane or Monksbane poisoning. Aconitum poisoning actually. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum

I was like, how the fucking bejeseesus do dey know dat, if dey never put a man tru dat in der life, like. Fooking crikey moses...

And after 24 seconds, the man will start to convulse. After 40 seconds he will turn purplish, but maybe what some will call a slight shade of blue, perhaps green. After 60 seconds he will call for his mother...

By jeebers. Did they get all this from the side notes of a Doctor?

It sounds like they side tracked a ship to australia with big strapping lads and fed them a whole load of horse shit, I mean, Wolfs Bane. Monks Hood. Did you know it is the main food of the British Bumble Bee? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_consobrinus

I shit you not.

Ah, go ahnn... Ah've anudut cup a' Wolf's Bane!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogrfAgbIfFo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MVRonuW608

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJyGxRC8i68

1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekXHe4xdhjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aatlliinymw

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
WTF?

Re: @Bradley... -- My how things change....

-----------

if she'd just said "boys, give me those cards and pay attention to what I'm saying, you can't have them back until after school."

------------

Ooh stop it. You're making me all tickly!

I dunno.

Maybe like the Catholic Church. Such a strict Disci(whack)pline!

One day you crack.

Let it all out brother. Let it flow. Let it all go. I'd trust my daughter (I don't have a daughter btw) with a hippy before a Catholic Priest. No offense to Catholic Priests...

But yeah, let's not be too sensible about this. You were saying..

"you can't have them back until after school."

Not unless you do something very very naughty, I mean, fuck, sorry, finish your homework, that was it, same thing, what the fuck?

:-)

The Reg is becoming more debased by the day. Nothing to do with my mind. Stop it now! Pics or STFU. Shit, did I just say that. I'm out of control. I'm like a naughty little fluffy rabbit that needs to be...

Oh jesus, just shoot me now!

Can't you see what they have done to our minds?

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
WTF?

Re: My how things change.... Take 2

"you're all the most filthy-minded disgusting little boys I've ever seen"

Maybe the little minx got off on it?

She knew what she was doing!

Can you imagine a Male teacher getting away with that today?

"you're all the most dirty little disgusting tarts - look at you all! just gagging for it. short little skirts. can't get enough can you? I'm going to give you all a ruddy good spanking!"

One law for them and one for us. Sex discrimination is what it is!

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance
Coat

Re: My how things change....

They certainly do.

Then you got it for free.

Now you have to pay good money to be talked to like that!

This changes everything: Microsoft slips WinXP holdouts $100 to buy new Windows 8 PCs

Bradley Hardleigh-Hadderchance

As for VMs

Yeah, I run WinXp3 off usb sticks in RAM. Have to use the virtual hard disk on my main physical disk of course. Who would try to run a disk of a usb drive?

It flies. It works very very fast.

The problem is with drivers. But getting there. Spent a long time trouble shooting stuff.

Got things going great with the gfx drivers. But audio drivers are more difficult.

Then there is wine.

There are lots of alternatives coming to light.

Virtual Hard Drives.

Say no more. Say no more. Course she does. Course she does.

There is a very interesting push/pull dynamic developing recently between the vested interests of Microsoft and whatnot and those of us that have mucho mega megabytes of real work invested on extra drives/external drives. We have graphics/audio on there. That stuff is gone if there is fire. That stuff needs to be backed up in triplicate, off site. I think most in the game understand that. Even then it is not for ever.

This is not about freetard/lazy. Hell, it's not even about redundancy (though that is a very good and valid argument for another day).

This is a major logistics problem of people building up data that is coupled to software (os), and the lack of foresight from both party's views to do something about it.

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