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User: horza

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  1. Good on Android Co-Founder: Fragmentation "an Overblown Issue" · · Score: 1

    I was happy with Android, I was even happier with the custom ROMs which got rid of the annoying quirks... then I found I was banned from downloading any adblock software from the Play store. I will shift myself and anybody I know off the Play store to an Android store that is not fatally crippled. Suggestions anybody? Amazon and the Samsung app store have nothing. I am really hoping this fragmentation with lead to some uncensored store that allows me to run software I choose to run.

    Phillip.

  2. Get Linux on the computers on English Schools To Introduce Children To 3D Printers, Laser Cutters, Robotics · · Score: 1

    Every school computer should be running Linux. Not only would this save millions, but you can instantly pop up a shell and start programming in any language you want for free (C, Java, Python, etc). Kids can pick up a Pi to continue their hobby from home, without parents needlessly shelling out for expensive PCs or laptops. No need for expensive IDEs either.

    The way you can so easily create custom Ubuntu distros, it's mind-blowing there isn't a UK tailored version of Edubuntu (different versions for different age groups) for schools.

    Phillip.

  3. Re:In related news... on Sent To Jail Because of a Software Bug · · Score: 2

    It was a very clever reference to the movie Brazil, where the bug was actually a bug (falling into the machine and changing "TUTTLE" to "BUTTLE")... which is a reference even further back to the very first computer "bug" and where the term first got its name. This unleashes a chain of events leading to the arrest of Buttle, with management having full confidence in their software until belatedly and begrudgingly giving restitution after the damage had already been done (much like in the article). The reference is remarkably apt.

    Though I would have thought the software where a bug could ruin lives and send people to prison was called PRISM.

    Phillip.

  4. Re:why? on Firefox 23 Makes JavaScript Obligatory · · Score: 1

    I disagree it's a little silly, I don't want to give up Firefox as I enjoy the tree-style tabs plugin. However I cannot stand sites that disable the back button or disable my ability to right click on the page. Being able to quickly turn this off by disabling Javascript much improves my productivity. Of course I can use a second browser for difficult sites (not ideal). I already do for my online bank which doesn't work in Firefox. It would be nicer if Firefox produced a "FirefoxLite" as a dumbed down version instead of spoiling the current version.

    Phillip.

  5. Re:The US is nobody's friend on Snowden: NSA Spying On EU Diplomats and Administrators · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It is a bit strange. The diplomatic cables leak was embarrassing but mostly damaged dictators overseas. It actually showed the US as pretty reasonable behind the scenes. Of course Manning should be punished, he clearly betrayed the trust put in him, but the incredible level of torture he was put through completely contradicted the Obama aim to close Guantamo Bay as a show of a return to human rights. Then chasing a journalist like Julian Assange including leaning on the Swedish and UK governments? Ridiculously over the top. The US is just painting itself out to be a global bully, trampling on the rights of its allies. If they kill somebody in the Middle East we just skip past that page in the newspaper but their actions clearly show it could be *you* next that gets "extraordinary rendition" if you accidentally upset them. A bit worrying.

    The same thing with Snowden. Here the leaker may actually have a point, if he genuinely believed he was revealing systematic breaking of the law by officials put in place to protect them. In the UK we've known about the US slurping up all our communication for decades. We know we are getting a pretty raw deal, with 'sanitised' intelligence scraps being thrown to us when the US feel like it. They just have to keep silent on this debate and it will be forgotten in a couple of weeks. All they have to do is say "Snowden broke law X, and if he returns to the US he will be arrested". Leave it at that! A witch hunt shows a level of immaturity other governments do not want to see from a nation with the sigint and military might the US has.

    Phillip.

  6. Re:No subject on Snowden: NSA Spying On EU Diplomats and Administrators · · Score: 1

    He apparently claimed in 2009 that the NSA planned to infiltrate Wikileaks to identify journalists that were leaking classified information. Then in 2011 the US government recruited Sigurdur Thordarson. I think it would be fair to say Madsen REALLY doesn't like Obama, sadly like most of the world now :-(, but he may have scored a hit with his latest one. Though it was only a semi-secret anyway.

    Phillip.

  7. Re:little light on the science details. on Charge Your Cellphone In 20 Seconds (Eventually) · · Score: 5, Funny

    The problem is that Ubuntu touch doesn't support the 1x1 screen resolution. We need the inventor to release the specs so a Mir graphics driver can be written. I've tried an alpha version and personally find the scroll bars tricky, but then that's always been a problem with Unity. This is the problem with Canonical trying to get one OS to work every device.

    Phillip.

  8. Re:Not as happy with CM as I could be. on Cyanogenmod 10.1 RC1 Starts To Roll Out To Devices Near You · · Score: 1

    I have a Galaxy Note2, and rooting it was as simple as double clicking on a file. Took me 1 minute. Installing a new rom took me a good 5 minutes. There are plenty of sites for this like this one. I really enjoy my custom rom, it's called du@lNote, never had a random reboot ever. Or if you want something simple there is CleanROM. There is a good lists here.

    Phillip.

  9. Re:Physical Keyboard FTW on BlackBerry Looking To Quench 'Insatiable Demand' For New Smartphones · · Score: 1

    I have had a range of phones, but my favourites were with keyboard. In some ways my old Nokia E71 was one of the best phones I owned: long battery life, thin and light, proper keyboard, good software including an on-board answer-phone (something my €700 Galaxy Note 2 doesn't even have). I use my phone as much for social as business, so I love the screen of the Note2, but having played with the new Blackberries they are superb. Even the touch-screen one is so intuitive to use. Unlike the rather tired and limited iPhone, I can see Blackberry selling well. Not for me but for anybody serious about business and productivity it's excellent.

    Phillip.

  10. Maybe people are now following the Apple model? on Electrical Engineer Unemployment Soars; Software Developers' Rate Drops to 2.2% · · Score: 2

    Why bother doing actual technical innovation? You can just do like Apple and look through other people's old software and patent the stuff others thought were way too obvious to take out a patent on. Hey, a billion dollar settlement can't be wrong...

    Phillip.

  11. Re:So lame I'm not refreshing the home page anymor on Linus Torvalds To Head Windows 9 Project · · Score: 0

    Gung'f jrveq, V pna ernq nyy gur cbfgf rkprcg gur cnerag gb guvf bar. V guvax gurer vf n oht va gur arj plcure flfgrz.

    Cuvyyvc.

  12. Re:Nokia is dead to me on Free Software Camps Wading Into VP8 Patent Fight · · Score: 2

    Florian, that simply isn't true. There is no indication that VP8 is patent-encumbered. That is just FUD you are trying to spread. When you say "we", I presume you mean Microsoft, and of course you have rose-tinted glasses. How did Google lie? They didn't. Are you trying that old fallacy of trying to trick somebody into proving a negative?

    This pathetic Microsoft shilling has become a joke.

    Phillip.

  13. Re:Fix Akonadi, Nepomuk, etc. on What's Going On In KDE Plasma Workspaces 2? · · Score: 1

    Never liked Kmail, Thunderbird all the way (Claws was like my fav ever, The Bat!, but lacked the polish). The great thing about Thunderbird is that it works on every OS. KDE4 is very good on the desktop, solid for me since 4.2, but this bug locks up my netbook so I use XFCE4 on that. With the Unity spyware scandal, KDE has never had a better opportunity to win back market share.

    Phillip.

  14. Re:Lese Mageste on How a Programmer Gets By On $16K/Yr: He Moves to Malaysia · · Score: 2

    So that is the US, Britain and France...

    You could also mention that when you go into the naked scanner you need to put your hands on your head in the submission pose of somebody surrendering. Way more humiliating than having some guy touch your genitals in one respect. We win two world wars, then you see a stream of British people being marched like cattle with hands on their heads :-(.

    Actually in all 3 countries all the customs officials were quite polite about doing the manual search, and I didn't feel at all they were penalising me for insisting. I only went through major hubs, though, where you might get a little bit more respect.

    Phillip.

  15. Re:Thanks for nothing on How a Programmer Gets By On $16K/Yr: He Moves to Malaysia · · Score: 1

    Despite only you thinking he is an idiot, and everybody else realising how smart he is...

    Why not create a national free health service in the USA? Stop the political corruption through political lobbying? Create a police force that doesn't molest passengers at the airport and pepper spray random citizens? You get these things on track, and couple it with your freedom of speech and religious tolerance, and the moment he starts thinking about raising a family he will be back and a US tax payer before you can say "Do you want Sambal with that?"

    Some misguided guilt-trip at somebody who doesn't care won't work. Get positive!!!

    Phillip.

  16. Re:Play store not the only source on Google Removing Ad-Blockers From Play · · Score: 1

    You are kidding!!! Now Google is censoring apps I have no reason to stay with the play store, but Amazon's policy of crippling your phone if you dare uninstall their app is completely unacceptable. Can somebody else back up this allegation?

    Maybe Samsung will open their own store?

    For free apps, if somebody was to set up a good repository then all the mod distros including by default would give it a (small) default user base.

    Phillip.

  17. Re:No, not again on Canonical Announces Mir: A New Display Server Not On X11 Or Wayland · · Score: 1

    Unity started to turn out quite nicely until they turned it into Amazon spyware. It was completely unnecessarily made unusable but the underpinnings were there. Coming up with a new display server, I am sure they have some hotshot OS programmer sell them on a demo of something that seems pretty spectacular. However, the fact X has hung around for a decade past its due by date shows it's not easy to replace. There is a horrible amount of legacy to be supported in terms of standards and hardware. I agree there is a good chance it will end badly, but I don't think Unity is related.

    Phillip.

  18. The good ole Ts of A on Helena Airport Manager Blocks TSA From Taking Full-Body Scanner · · Score: 2

    I boycotted going to the states for the past decade, but finally succumbed to peer pressure and flew a couple of times to Vegas. The first time I went via NY and didn't encounter the naked scanners. The second time I went they had them both in France and the USA! Each time I politely asked not to go through, and they were very nice about it. They pulled me aside and told me they would find somebody to examine me and my luggage separately. Each time it didn't take long. Each TSA agent I came across stated they would only be touching my penis and testacles with the back of their hand. Honestly I found them actually very polite and honest people doing a shitty job. Sure if I was an American and believed it was a free democratic country I would have been pretty mad, but being a European already warned it was pretty much a Nazi state I was mentally prepared. Not really too bothered about a guy "touching my junk" as I knew that was a prerequisite of visiting America. There was no pressure to push me through the naked scanners though.

    I really feel for you guys :-(. If you can end this ritual humiliation, it will be both good for yourselves and your international image.

    Bon chances mes amis,

    Phillip.

  19. Re:Is this in Nevada or Atlantic City? on World's First Bitcoin ATM · · Score: 1

    Are you a fucking moron?

    In your opinion, perhaps, because I hold a different viewpoint. Intellectually speaking I would venture I am more intelligent than you.

    These aren't strange arguments they're ones that anybody with any knowledge of the subject or common sense would come to.

    I have read extensively on ecommerce technology, I feel I am economically literate and have read numerous papers on the subject (though my degrees were in engineering), and have my own investment portfolios. My conclusions differ. The theory appears ok but I doubted at the beginning it would ever gain any traction. The extent of its success has taken me by surprise, not due to any theoritical flaws... quite the contrary. The money markets are quite illogical and 'belief' and 'confidence' play and undue part. Look at the effect the downgrading of the UK by the Moody credit rating agency. I am surprised it has had so much success solely through grass roots.

    BTC, unlike USD, CAD, Euros or Pounds has no value to it.

    It does. Like any commodity. The value is what somebody is prepared to pay for it. People pay $20k for a mobile phone. It's not worth that if you melt it down but the value has been set by supply and demand.

    I can't pay my taxes or buy food with it

    The first is true but the second isn't. There was a /. article only last week about being able to order pizza using Bitcoin. If a vendor insists on a particular form of payment then use it. If your government wants to be paid on dollars then use dollars. If somebody else wants to be paid in potatoes then give them potatoes. As long as you have some form of exchange then there is no problem.

    And yes, I'm fully aware of what a Ponzi Scheme is

    No you are not.

    it's where you take new investors money to pay off the older investors and where the founders get automatic profits

    That is not correct.

    And yes, this is likely illegal, unlike other commodities markets, the SEC isn't regulating this one

    That is not the definition of illegal.

    which means there's likely all sorts of illegal activities going on

    ???

    Phillip.

  20. Re:Is this in Nevada or Atlantic City? on World's First Bitcoin ATM · · Score: 1

    Hmm, seem to be replying to yet another hedwards post on how Bitcoin will fail. Using strange arguments. Nothing needs to be produced in a currency apart from some token that can be validated. Whether a euro coin, a dollar bill, or an EDI transfer over a wire.

    You don't appear to know what a zero sum game is or a Ponzi scheme. Similar trolls have posted before so I won't point out the misuse of the former and ignorance about the latter. I'm not even sure where you come up with a concept of a bill. If I buy a Bitcoin then it's mine. Even if it becomes worthless. Nothing is owed to anybody. I lost a third of my savings by not moving it into Euros in time, a number of years ago, because I invested in the "Ponzi scheme" of the currency of the United Kingdom. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Then you randomly throw in digital tokens as being illegal with no basis what-so-ever. Wow, you are BITTER.

    Personally I'm curious about the concept of Bitcoin, and am wary even though it appears to be working perfectly well. The wariness is due to your only valid point, which is that large changes in value can occur because of the low volume. There are people that buy Bitcoin as an investment rather than a currency, and speculators distort any market. I can't even buy any quantity of my favourite wines as speculators have already bought up next years production. Frankly speculators can be a pain in the arse. However if somebody working freelance wanted me to pay them in Bitcoin to avoid paying Visa/Paypal fees then I wouldn't have any objection to it. I'd buy a couple $100 worth and then 'top up' buying more as needed.

    Phillip.

  21. Re:Waiting for the other shoe on World's First Bitcoin ATM · · Score: 1

    Visserau, hedwards is just one of those Bitcoin trolls that spams the fake "Bitcoin is a Ponzi scheme" all over every forum. It's been debunked a million times so you don't need to worry. One point you are missing is that the original investors don't make lots of money. If they didn't use them then nobody apart from the original miners would have any, hence it would not exist as a currency. As they spread and demand goes up. The original people sell low as eg $1 is a lot more than they spent in electricity to generate it. They think it's a lot at the time. If you don't believe me, go back through past /. posts of the ilk "Bitcoin value hits $X" and count the number of posts bemoaning that they sold at $X/10 thinking they were getting a great deal at the time.

    Sure some early miners might still have coins, but if they haven't sold by now they've been holding on an awful long time and obviously the money aspect isn't that important to them. Sure it might keep going up but hold onto anything and the value normally goes up if you hold onto it long enough. Doesn't matter if its wine or property. People like hedwards are bitter because they think they missed out on something. They are just sad small minded people. I didn't invest any time or money into Bitcoin, but if those brave enough to do so end up with a little cash in their pocket I'm not going to begrudge them.

    Phillip.

  22. Re:Ironic on World's First Bitcoin ATM · · Score: 2

    you could have a gold-based debit card, gold-based ATMs, heck, you could even have gold-based paper money

    There are already gold based ATMs, started a couple of years ago.

    Phillip.

  23. Re:I no longer care. on Ubuntu For Tablets Announced · · Score: 2

    Commenting to undo wrong mod by mistake. Agreed, this is a sticking point for many of us.

    Phillip.

  24. Re:AKA Google drives Bitcoin Into Mainstream use on Google Looks To Cut Funds To Illegal Sites · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A think a lot of us didn't take Bitcoin seriously until we saw what happened to Wikileaks. The incredible power of VISA to simply cut off global funding to any entity at a keystroke with zero accountability to anybody. Whereas prior the idea of Bitcoin would be seen as "too much effort", a lot of people could now be pushed into giving it a try.

    Phillip.

  25. Re:Mr. Musk, it's called "real world testing" on NY Times' Broder Responds To Tesla's Elon Musk · · Score: 1

    Gasoline powered cars are not amazingly tolerant of these sort of behaviours, it's just there tends to be a gas station every 100m. The way I drive my car easily halves the potential range, and a $150 tank of gas hardly sees a week of moderate usage.

    Phillip.