Posts by Paul Hovnanian

"We're just passing the tonsils. Nothing to report yet."

Unauthorized Clothes?

"In Cupertino style, users would be prevented from putting their sensors on unauthorised clothing. The patent application complained that people were in the habit of removing spy circuits from authorised trainers and putting them in unofficial items. Apple doesn't like that."

I propose a system of sensors that can freely be relocated to whichever brand or style of clothing you desire. Since this represents new and novel functionality that Apple does not claim, my patent trumps theirs.

Too late ...

... to put this on Bradley Manning's Christmas gift list.

Still the middleman?

"So Microsoft has extended its platform to use QR Codes like everyone else, and added support for URLs embedded in NFC tags too. Redmond will still host a redirection server (so the encoded URL points to Microsoft, who forwards the request while accumulating usage statistics)."

It sounds like Microsoft's app will still funnel reads of the various tag formats through the mother ship in Redmond. That's not something I'd be happy turning over to The Borg. So, sorry Microsoft. I won't be inviting you into the middle of my transactions.

W8 Release date

December 21, 2012.

According to the Mayans.

Mascot?

Anyone's hockey team in need of a mascot?

So, will Apple sue Samsung for copying their technology?

A piece of string

A piece of string tied to a vertical mast on a rover and we'd have the answer.

But Its Not Google

Bummer of an acronym there.

Red shift?

But looking at stuff with extreme red shifts means they are at extreme distances. And so we are looking at events in the Universe's distant past. Back then, alpha may indeed have been different. But it could very well have been different in the vicinity of the Earth as well. Back before the complex molecular interactions we depend upon were important. So it might be more accurate to say that we (and those distant aliens) happen to live in a time that is conducive to life. Not a region.

Some alien astrophysicist on a planet orbiting that distant star with (what we observe to be) anomalous red shifts doesn't see them now. But when he (I know, presumptuous of me to apply our gender specific pronouns to aliens) looks toward earth, he may observe the same differences from what he presumes to be essential for life. In our distant past. And writes our end of the Universe off as uninhabitable. And he thanks his local God for blessing his race as special.

Lasers

And while you are worrying about the lasers cracking your crypto, you'll never even notice the shark chomping on your leg.

What happens ...

... when one of these double wide houses meets a mining vehicle or something of similar size going the other way?

The simple solution for the Solar Challenge would be to get a couple of military surplus armored trucks (ala Mad Max) to run interference for them.

No.... You move the house!

Didn't anyone remember to put him in /etc/inittab as a respawn process?

Time Zones are Laws

Or, more accurately, established by laws in various jurisdictions.

Some of those jurisdictions place restrictions or conditions on the publication of their public laws and the subsequent rights to that information, even when published 'for profit' . All it would take is for one small town to set its time zone and then attach some sort of viral 'open source' condition to the subsequent compilation and publication of its ordinances.

Object of adoration ....

... will stay up.

Well, yes. But not like it used to. I'm not young anymore.

I'm not worried

Back when naked pictures of me were of any interest to anyone, they were still using the daguerreotype process.

Trademark

Will ICM really be selling the .xxx versions of just anything to anyone? Do you really think Microsoft, Boeing, or TheRegister won't raise a stink about seeing their names in front of the infamous TLD?

We lost our privacy in the name of security. Since then, Bush used his powers to look for porn. Obama is using them to look for offshore bank accounts.

Change his name ...

... to Spartacus.

Lynx?

What about lynx users?

Or better yet, those of us who use wget and read the raw HTML (like in the Matrix).

Actually ...

... that's where the Cybertronians are hiding from the Decepticons.

Sorry. American here

Did you folks just come out with a new series of Monty Python episodes that we haven't seen on this side of the pond?

I guess ...

... the BBC didn't retire the Daleks after all.

Supreme Court Descision

I understand why the USSC found the Stolen Valor Act to be unconstitutional. Its the threat of the government control of speech and suppression of dissent by labeling it as lies.

On the other hand, there is no restriction on civil suits being brought for anything from fraud (misrepresenting ones credentials for the purpose of personal gain) to trademark violation. I can't stick a Rolex logo on a cheap watch or sell knock off products as name brands. I'd hope that the Navy (and other military branches) have groups dedicated to pursuing and bringing such abuses to court. I'd be happy to see such activities funded by us taxpayers.

Sadly, our military forces have a number of people who sympathize with religious nut cases and are more than willing to look the other way to support their fellow travelers' riding their coattails.

We have a saying ...

... that starts:

"If you love something, set it free."

There are several alternative endings which I'll leave to your imagination.

Time for Google to go

I envy you people who live in countries with more reasonable approaches to patents (software in particular). I wouldn't be surprised to see outfits like Google more their engineering and operations to these locations should this sort of nonsense continue.

Sure, the use of the patented technology would still be prohibited within US borders. But the servers would be beyond the reach of the trolls. And good luck suing every Google user for their share of a $5m penalty (a fraction of a penny apiece).

Missing remote

"The PS2 Move has already been described as an Wii remote designed to look more like a sex toy, "

[Sigh] Just one more place I'll have to look for a missing remote.