* Posts by Andrew Punch

65 posts • joined 12 Jun 2008



Andrew Punch


Hopefully God has 5.25" drives so he/she can read it again


Andrew Punch
Thumb Up

Re: Soldering irons

I learned in my engineering degree - never try to catch anything.

Anything mechanical or electrical will elicit an automatic "hands up" response if it drops.

Hand icon... cause I'd like to keep mine thanks

nbn™ scoreboard: miracle needed to hit FY 18 construction targets

Andrew Punch

Re: Mobile will kill the NBN

Unfortunately the NBN *did* make sense when it was FTTP. Only fibre will be able to surpass mobile. And telecommunications improvements have a disproportionally positive impact on the Australian economy due to our remoteness from the main economic centres.

You mention TV and windows updates. The main point is work. I have done 100% remote work for companies in Europe but it is hard due to Australia's poor internet. Honestly speed isn't even the main problem - reliability and availability are the main problems. Mobile is less reliable than ADSL - I know because I am forced to use mobile broadband even though I am in the Sydney metro area.

With all this wasted money on FTTN and HFC I doubt FTTP or FTTC will ever be properly rolled out. Australia will have to put up with second best yet again.

FTTP NBN gone from draft Australian Labor Party policy platform

Andrew Punch

The NBN is the internet that Australia deserves

But not the one it needs right now

Give 1,000 monkeys typewriters, they'll write Shakespeare. Give them robot arms, and wait – they actually did that?

Andrew Punch

Rise of the planet of the apes

and the machines


Andrew Punch

Re: re: Contacting someone implies you were successful;...

"Pinging" sounds like flicking the target in the ear

Asterisk RTP bug worse than first thought: Think intercepted streams

Andrew Punch

I pointed out the insecurity of RTP 20 years ago

I was working for Avaya at the time and did a POC interception tool using winpcap.

I would expect SRTP to be ubiquitous by now but obviously not


Andrew Punch
Big Brother

Multi-process FTW

The biggest stumbling block I had with Firefox was that poorly written or slow javascript would freeze the whole browser. The same with shoddy extensions.

Since multi-process became available in release builds last year, I have been considering going back to Firefox on a day-to-day basis.

Apple beats off banks' bid for access to iPhones' NFC chips

Andrew Punch

Meanwhile I'm just sitting here

paying for stuff on my Android Phone using the bank app

HR botches redundancy so chap scores year-long paid holiday

Andrew Punch

And this is how the BOFH started...

Flash deserves to live, says Cisco security man

Andrew Punch

Duplicate of existing functionality

The primary advantages of flash have always been more permissive access to the local machine, decent multimedia and particularly DRM. Apart from that it really just duplicates javascript, video tags and SVG.

It was great in 1996 but with HTML5 all these features have been added to the browser. The last hold out was DRM but now flash is simply a buggy duplication of features in the browser. Having that functionality is a massive security risk.

Australian Government hopes to untangle NBN migration mess

Andrew Punch

Untangle a mess of their own making

After 18 months you get cut over. A workman comes, switches you over and you still keep paying Telstra or whoever.

Because the server room is certainly no place for pets

Andrew Punch


I am a software engineer and have seen the problem first hand.

Me> The software on this box is out of date and not supported

PHB> We must have the lastest and supported and ra ra ra

Me> We need three weeks of development time and a couple of days of sysadmin time

PHB> Oh don't do that sales wants X




PHB> OMFGBBQ the shit has hit the fan

Me> Yes that is because we are running out of date software. Now our customers are pissed

PHB> No time for that, just keep it running

Who's come to fix your broadband? It may be a Fed in disguise. Without a search warrant

Andrew Punch

Still Better than Comcast

On the plus side they are probably better at fixing problems than the contractors who work for telcos


Andrew Punch


Having tried out a few smart TVs I am very happy to go back to my el-cheapo Android TV dongle.

Why can't I just stream from my phone (without needing an Apple TV box)? Why can't I just plug a DVD into the power and stream it to my TV without a bazillion wires? Why do I have to wait for Netflix etc. apps to be updated when they are available for Android?

The smart TV features could really use improvement, rather than 4K or 3D.

Google boffins PROVE security warnings don't ... LOOK! A funny cat!

Andrew Punch

What about scam HTTP sites

Most paypal / bank scam websites I have seen use plain old HTTP then just copy+paste the real site's design and graphics - which people fall for.

As such why do these HTTPS improvements matter?


Andrew Punch

The Outback gets the most benefit

but don't vote Labor. Silly Labor for actually putting the country first.

Even areas like the Central Coast north of Sydney have terrible internet speed and reliability.

Want a customer's call records Mr Plod? No probs

Andrew Punch

If the law says bend over and take it anyway...

...the telcos are obviously going to work toward putting in a system that costs them as little as possible.

If you want something different - change the law!


Andrew Punch

Great to see that Ballmer is finally supporting Android then.


Andrew Punch

Say no to Rice no matter the price

No matter what the price if Condelezza Rice is on the board I cannot trust my data with Dropbox. I recently cancelled my (paid) Dropbox account - so I am not some freetard whiner who hasn't used their service.

Google starts selling Glass to Brits – for £1,000 a pop

Andrew Punch

1000 pounds?

They will need to pay me much more than that to wear it!

Bondi shark alert systems beams warning to nobody on Google Plus

Andrew Punch


> ...Google Apps is to Office Online.....A poor copy.

Google Apps came first and kicks arse

Andrew Punch

Small Number of People Attacked By Sharks

And a small number of people use Google Plus. A perfect match perhaps?

NSW government gets into the smartphone case business

Andrew Punch

Just when I think I have spotted the April Fools article...

Is the government's NBN policy changing your vote? Greens Senator Scott Ludlam thinks so

Andrew Punch

Vote for NBN is a vote for Labor or the Greens

I know some hardcore conservatives in IT - people who constantly criticise Labor and the Greens - voted for Labor due to the NBN issue.

I would say it is less likely that these people will switch to Greens, however the Greens may be able to catch some of the small 'l' liberal voters at the centre right.

NBN day of action fizzles as just 20 show at Turnbull's office

Andrew Punch

Re: Not surprised.

"These are Australians you are talking about. The most apathetic, indifferent, uncaring, lazy mob of football-watching beer-swilling bogans on the planet."

I resent that comment! I do not watch football.

Motorola shows off tattoo and swallowable password hardware

Andrew Punch

Re: I'm missing something here

> So, if you're going to be pooing out the pills on a regular basis, or occasionally throwing them up if that vindaloo was a bit dodgy, that means you're going to need to carry a bottle of pills around with you.

...or carry a strainer around with you

Can't watch Flash vids in Firefox? It's not just you

Andrew Punch

Re: Affects Linux too, differently

Crashes for me on Linux when kids are watching iview. So I keep on getting "Daaaaaad... it's not working"

Oracle v Google could clear way for copyright on languages, APIs

Andrew Punch


Does this mean that the Oxford English Dictionary own copyright the english language then?

I seem to remember a Goons episode where Moriaty patented or copyrighted the word "help". Perhaps Oracle could try that next.

So what's the worst movie NEVER made?

Andrew Punch

One word...



Andrew Punch

Re: I stopped reading after the first point

"I reduced the disaster recovery *risk* in the backup system"

You just need to sell your work with the right business terms. BOFHs have their own jargon and managers have theirs. If *we* do the translating then *we* have the power.

UPDATE: GAGA team hunts down grass-smoking ROBOT

Andrew Punch


> If you are that keen on doing it via radio use beacons at each corner and a rotating flat high gain antenna on top of the GAGA. Measure signal and triangualate. 4 WiFi access points, different SSIDs and a 20db directional antenna will do the trick - total BOM of under 300£.

I think sticking to radio with a rotating directional antenna could work well. Look at the Direction Finding sections of the ARRL Antenna Book and the ARRL Handbook for ideas. A rotating loop antenna (with an encoder on the spindle) could work quite well, then (with a loop) you just look for the nulls.

You will probably need 3 beacons, in an L. You then have three angles from "forward". You can use these angles to triangulate the position, plus you get the mower's orientation.

Alternatively you could obtain a goat.

SOPA poked an angry bear and set it loose on the net

Andrew Punch

Re: Nothing is obvious in Copyrightland

This is from the US Copyright office [http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html]:


My reading is that a list of ingredients is not subject to copyright, but the instructions of a recipe are subject to copyright ("...a description, explanation...")

Thus for the interviewee to state that it is "obvious" that recipes are not copyrighted is clearly incorrect. There is clearly a grey area regarding what elements of a recipe are subject to copyright.

‘Blogger not a journalist’ says Oregon court

Andrew Punch

Abandon logic all ye who enter

I think the biggest problem is this statement "Cox had chosen to represent herself in this case". At face value it would appear that if an electronic publication has a wide enough reach for suing for defamation then it should have a pretty good argument that it should be big enough to qualify under the shield laws.

But the question is whether the shield laws should even be invoked. Cox should have proof - emails, documents etc. - that her source provided. Did she state both sides of the story and request a response to the allegations from the company involved (as any reputable journalist would do)?

Also the judges may have stuck by the letter of the law - do Oregon shield laws specifically list the types of media which are covered?

All these things seem to point to the fact that Cox needs a solicitor, rather than just making a mess herself.

The new touchy-feely Doctor Who trend: Worrying

Andrew Punch





Hackers mistake French rugby site for German stock exchange

Andrew Punch

The French being "insulted ... copiously in German"

Surely there is only one way to reply to that: You don't frighten us, English [German] pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English [German] K-nig-hts.

Farewell then, Sony Ericsson

Andrew Punch

Vale SE

My two favourite phones were the W880i and the K700i. The UI was well laid out. The buttons felt good (especially the W880i). Unfortunately both have met their end (my son decided that the W880i needed a drink of water) so I am slumming it with an HTC Sensation - oh well.

Numerous times I tethered the W880i when my ADSL had gone down and using the browser to do the car registration on the way to the mechanic.

Just so I am not accused of being a total fanboi: the K700i sometimes crashed during a call, the browser on the W880i frequently crashed and Sony insisted on using their own crappy SD card format which cost $$$$$.

.Scot campaign seeks UK Gov backing

Andrew Punch

I am still waiting for the .justlookitupongoogle domain

Revealed: Secret security plan should Kate leave Wills at the altar

Andrew Punch

But then...

Doctor Who bursts out from under the priest's dress and takes Kate on a journey through time. And she ends up shagging William the Conquer instead. Whoops

RSA won't talk? Assume SecurID is broken

Andrew Punch
Paris Hilton

Should be rekeying, not be silent

If RSA has had a breach of both the seed and mapping - it should be absolutely possible for them to discard the compromised seed and the mapping key. Then they can create a new seed, a new mapping key and start issuing new tokens to ensure their customers remain secure.

Paris also has some trouble securing her intellectual property...

Fukushima update: No chance cooling fuel can breach vessels

Andrew Punch

Triumph of Nature

Although this reactor has been well designed and has coped reasonably well with an incident which was beyond its design requirements - nature can and frequently does through a spanner in the works.

Also the Japanese operators have done a great job keeping everything under control. What if the operators were not as skilled or the plant itself was not as well built?

The fact that the US Navy detected radioactive particles 100 km away destroys your argument that it is only affecting the site and local area.

Nuclear in its current form has dangers and the current proponents of nuclear power are not willing to come clean on the (admittedly small) dangers.

Boffin breakthrough doubles Wi-Fi speed

Andrew Punch

Full Duplex FTW


Ummm full duplex transmission has been around for 50 years. Yeah sure it is a PITA and expensive - it has certainly been possible though.


Andrew Punch

Big Amateur Radio Mast

You might want to checkout what the ARRL Antenna Book or the ARRL Handbook has to say about masts. You might be able to get a decent mast that is taller than your house.

You might also want to check out the amateur radio classifieds (RSGB in the UK I think) for any decent sized masts.

Firefox, uTorrent, and PowerPoint hit by Windows DLL bug

Andrew Punch
Gates Horns

Unix Sysadmin Anyone?

Unix sysadmins have known for years not to include the pwd in their execution path or library path. So where has Microsoft been for the last 30 years?

Bishop Hill: Gonzo science and the Hockey Stick

Andrew Punch

Skeptics still don't answer the basics

Why is it that:

1. If in a lab I have a glass box with air and a glass box with air+extra CO2 - the CO2 box will warm up faster?

2. The Vostok ice cores show a correlation between increased CO2 and increased temperature?

The basic physics is there, the other evidence is there. Skeptics should explain it all or GTFO.


Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala

Andrew Punch

No problems here

Upgraded from 9.04 to 9.10 on a T400 laptop using the graphical upgrade - no problems.

Tesla Roadster travels 313 miles on single charge

Andrew Punch


Here in 'straya we don't use miles - please rewrite in metric and write 100 lines "I will not use outdated measurement systems"

Microsoft purges AutoRun from older Windows

Andrew Punch

U3's problem

If U3 misreports the device type any security issues are U3's problem, not Microsoft's.

Microsoft has done the right thing by removing autoplay from writable media, while leaving the convenience of autoplay for read-only media.

About time... my Linux desktop doesn't have any autoplay vulnerabilities. I for one welcome our new penguin overlords.

Microsoft pimps bogus Windows 7 'launch parties'

Andrew Punch

If I knew it was going to be that kind of party...

I would've stuck my dick in the mashed potatoes.

Morrissey tells netdepressives to boycott his re-releases

Andrew Punch

Morrisey is nothing without the Smiths

Should I buy his work to annoy him - but then I would have to listen to it. Oh the dilemna.


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