Comment Re:too difficult (Score 1) 86
Perhaps the complexity and importance of the data has something to do with it.
Comment Re:Might be for the better (Score 1) 86
From the security point of view, the system was a potential disaster. The centralized system implemented no access control whatsoever - all of that was to be handled by the client applications!
Source? Have a look at this, under the Access Control Framework section.
Comment Re:Maybe I'm naive.. (Score 1) 86
They are pretty much trying to go from Doctors scribbled notes in a patients folder to a complete, online, centralized system.
Not really. notes still on paper are pretty rare now in the UK.
I would ask, why centralised?
The NHS does things like health promotions, and does reporting based on records. Had to report on records that you don't have because they're on a patient's USB key.
Hospital needs a copy?, Just use the same paperwork they do now to request patient records.
This is the sort of issue the system was supposed to address. Except without the need to wait for paperwork, which might be a pain in you're rushed to A&E (emergency room).
Comment Re:Maybe I'm naive.. (Score 1) 86
Instead of a central massive do-everything system all that should have happened / be happening is to specify a set of formats and protocols and then each provider from giant hospital campus to small outreach surgery can use whatever system suits their needs, so long as it talks the language.
The standardised format and protocol idea exists. It's used for the summary care record (the spine). GP software has been able to support it for quite some time now. Of course GPs want to carry on using the software they've been using for years, rather than ll move to a new software system, and all the data migration issues that entails.
Comment Tarsnap (Score 1) 251
Comment Re:PostgreKill (Score 1) 675
Buy it? Read the license, they can have it!
Comment Re:yes (Score 1) 483
..in the UK, I found it to be even more restrictive with binary speed limits...
You're telling me! Even on the open road with a 1000110 speed limt, people still drive at 1010000 or 1011010. Personally I'm fine dawdling along at 111100. Except for that time I did 10010110.
Comment Re:Welcome to Obama's America (Score 1) 637
The only thing that really stopped the IRA was the economy of Ireland improved, not the UK intelligence and police.
Nothing to do with the Good Friday Peace Agreement then?
Submission + - "Tactical Nuclear Penguin" launched today (bbc.co.uk)
cheros writes: No, it's not a new game, and it's not a new Linux distro either (although it would be quite a name), it's BEER.
What's more, it's not your average new taste either, it's incredibly strong stuff with 32% alcohol.
Please do not drink too much of this, or you'll become too risky to cremate..
What's more, it's not your average new taste either, it's incredibly strong stuff with 32% alcohol.
Please do not drink too much of this, or you'll become too risky to cremate..
Comment Re:Dock/Taskbar design (Score 1) 688
If I have a very recent computer: Leopard-->Snow Leopard: $10 Vista (any) --> Win7 (same): $0
Here in the UK, the Vista to Windows 7 upgrade is *free*, but you have to pay for postage and packing for the DVD. That costs £12.77 (about $US 20). All of a sudden Microsoft's free upgrade looks a lot more expensive than Apple's paid-for upgrade.
Comment Re:ULE by default (Score 1) 324
They would be wise to port WAPBL; it looks better than gjournal...
WAPBL and gjournal work at different levels. WAPBL works at the filesystem level, while gjournal works at the device (actually, the geom) level, so it should work just fine for things like raw devices, RAID, and non-FFS filesystems.
I'm curious to know in what ways you think WAPBL is better.
Submission + - FreeBSD 7.1 released
hmallett writes: "After a longer-than-planned gestation period, FreeBSD 7.1 has been released. New features include the new ULE scheduler as the default for improved performance on multicore systems, DTrace inside the kernel, and DVD-sized media, preventing tedious disk-swapping for those who prefer a full install."
Submission + - FreeBSD 6.4 released (freebsd.org)
hmallett writes: "FreeBSD 6.4-RELEASE, the fifth release from the 6-STABLE branch of FreeBSD development, has been released. In addition to being available from many FTP sites, ISO images can be downloaded via the BitTorrent tracker, or for users of earlier FreeBSD releases, FreeBSD Update can be used to perform a binary upgrade."
Submission + - Press Release Services (and General Advice)
chiphart writes: "Imagine that you are on a team that has developed an amazing new product or service and you want to tell the world. The one person in your group with an English degree hacks up a press release — now what do you do with it? There are many different press release services out
there...but do they work? Does anyone have any good or bad experience to share about these services? Are there any non-obvious methods for distributing press releases in an effective manner, especially for a group that has little in terms of marketing funds?
One thing we learned from our journalist friends is to approach reporters directly in, to quote, obsequious fashion, but that has not lead anywhere yet.
I will indicate my seriousness for a response to this question by not linking to the obviously amazing new product/service in an effort of self-promotion."
Submission + - Documenting Firewall Rulesets ?
An anonymous reader writes: I have a substantial amount of experience on "both sides of the firewall" and to date have used my knowledge and experience as wisely as possible. For much of the past decade I have been the primary administrator of an enterprise class firewall for a fairly large entity, having designed and built the current infrastructure from the initial installs. The firewall ruleset has grown quite large with our ever increasing dependence on internet connectivity and now supports several dozen DMZ resident systems as well as hundreds of site to site VPNs. We use an industry leader, enterprise class firewall, which allows central management of multiple enforcement points and does a nice job of self-documentation within the management console. I am now being asked by upper management to extract the detailed ruleset configuration from the safety of the management console and publish this information to an "internal document" which will be available to corporate resources other than the small team changed with firewall administration. It was offered that we can document the process of obtaining this information through the firewall management interface, but this was rejected and upper management is insisting that we publish every detail of the firewall ruleset to a shared directory on our network. Am I the only one that thinks this is a horrible idea and a potentially serious security issue? Can anyone provide any "best practices" documentation to support either side of the issue? I'm having real concerns with simply handing over the security information that I've spent many years protecting to those who may not understand the potential problems in publishing this data.
