* Posts by DJ

179 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Nov 2007

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Why users still couldn't care less about Windows 11

DJ
Meh

Elaborate?

"The Telemetry is skewed. They only get stats from basic users. Advanced users turn it off...."

Really?

How?

The curious story of Uncle Sam's HR dept, a hastily set up email server, and fears of another cyber disaster

DJ
FAIL

I, for one,

welcome the US of A to the third world - home of would-be dictators, stooges, and inhabitants of the island of misfit human beings.

(see also: scores in own goal)

See you (maybe) in four years, lads!

Is it really the plan to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal? It's been a weird week

DJ

Re: Money talks

Yes, it's a lengthy list, but you left out the ever-lovable Mr. Buffet, among others.

(If you're not a farmer in the American mid-west, check out "The Fine Print" by David Cay Johnston)

Apple offers to settle 'snooping Siri' lawsuit for an utterly incredible $95M

DJ
Stop

Can someone with a legal background please explain why these companies are allowed to make no admission of guilt (they are paying the fines because they are fine specimens of humanity at its best - we all know that)?

I get the courts, well the attorneys anyway, want to get the case settled, but it seems to me the public's interest is coming in last.

PS: Wanna make a packet in the computer industry?

Go to law school.

Blue Origin inches closer to the first New Glenn flight

DJ
Facepalm

Re: Donald has got his second term and can't run again

I fear you may be right.

I desperately hope you are wrong.

Man accused of hilariously bad opsec as alleged cybercrime spree detailed

DJ
Coat

If only some of our elected criminals officials were so clumsy.

Mine's the one without any thumb drives (or indictments) in the pockets. ---------->

Europe glances Russia's way after Baltic Sea data cables severed

DJ
Coat

Re: Why would they bother?

Have an upvote for the Vercotti brothers reference.

Funny how the cables Russia uses never seem to be involved in "accidents"...

Mine's the one without the cable snippers in the pocketses. ---->

Toyota and Joby complete Japan's first air taxi flight test

DJ
Coat

Solution in search of a problem?

This will be really nice.

Until there are more than a few of these buzzing around.

And bumping into things like power lines, buildings, drones, and each other.

Then again, the costs of buying, insuring, and maintaining them, not to mention liability coverage, will likely limit their numbers.

Mine's the one with the matching hard hat.

Admins using Windows Server Update Services up in arms as Microsoft deprecates feature

DJ
Flame

Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly...

All your businesses are belong to us!

Look! About chest high! Is it a pallet? Is it a drone? No, it's a Palletrone

DJ
Joke

One word comes to mind

Pull!

Astronomers back call for review of bonkers rule that means satellite swarms fly without environment checks

DJ
Coat

It used to be...

... at least some of the satellites put up were for the benefit of humanity; weather prediction and all that.

Who decided it was a good idea to allow zillionaires to do so as a means to make profits, manifestly without considering the downsides to everyone else?

Mine's the one with a bit of disgust in the pocket.

Microsoft resurrects Windows Recall for upcoming preview

DJ
Coat

That's that then

I'll be off to Linuxland if this non-sense stands.

Enough is enough.

Are we to share the blame for allowing this to happen?

Mine's the one without so much Windows in the pocketses.

Before we put half a million broadband satellites in orbit, anyone want to consider environmental effects?

DJ
Coat

It would be shame if

the ISS accidentally took a bunch of (insert evil person/empire here, plural if you please)'s satellites with it.

"Gee, we didn't expect THAT to happen. Please accept our apologies."

(Mine's the one that used to have an unobstructed view of the nighttime sky in the pocket.)

Fraud guilty plea flies from Boeing to swerve courtroom over 737 Max crashes

DJ

Life sentence?

Can't wait to hear for how long the Boeing corporation will go to prison.

With such a sound legal system, one wonders how long until the whole thing implodes.

Windows: Insecure by design

DJ

Re: Three cheers for Linux! I guess..

Cheers, Mate.

Have an upvote for that.

DJ
Coat

Three cheers for Linux! I guess..

I'm not the first to make this observation, but it's worth repeating;

I don't run Windows because I want to run Windows, I run it because the programs I want to run aren't available for anything else.

So, no, the velvet-lined handcuffs aren't coming off anytime soon. They didn't look or feel like handcuffs when I first put them on...

A bit tired of the parade of Linux users announcing how long they've been it.

Sorry.

Congrats to you for avoiding/escaping the Windows trap and all, but that's not helpful to the lot of us that actually do stuff on these stupid things.

If you'd care to list what you actually run/do on Linux, it would be more interesting, possibly even useful.

Approaching retirement here and I would love to spend my golden years wrestling with another OS, but may well decide to just get on with it and do useful things instead while cursing Micrsoft under my breath.

(Mine's the one without so much MS in the pocket.)

Researchers find Meta's withdrawal of misinformation tool hard to swallow

DJ
Coat

In a related story

"Well, Mr. um... what was that last name?"

"Fox, sir."

"Yes, of course! Mr. Fox, what are your qualifications for safeguarding our hen house?"

"Oh, I'm very familiar with this type of environment..."

Mine's the one with last trace of sarcasm in the pocket.

UnitedHealth's 'egregious negligence' led to Change Healthcare ransomware infection

DJ
Coat

A simple solution(?)

Government fine schedule:

First breach: 20% of prior calendar year's revenue (no, not profit).

Second breach: 50% of prior calendar year's revenue.

Third breach: 100% of prior calendar year's revenue.

Mine's the one with the loose change in the pocket.

AI could crash democracy and cause wars, warns Japan's NTT

DJ

Re: Facebook

We can only hope.

If it takes AI (whatever that means this week) to rid the world of the pox that is social media, the sooner the better.

...legs it for nearest door..

German state ditches Windows, Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice

DJ

Re: Outlook/Exchange ?

If your environment is truly supporting 800 apps, good luck on your migration journey.

You might have a chance with 80, but 800?

Guten nacht, herr direktor.

Underwater cables in Red Sea damaged months after Houthis 'threatened' to do just that

DJ

Hello?

The sixth century called and they want Yemen back (click....bzzzz...)

Sorted!

Japanese Yakuza boss charged with nuclear trafficking by the US

DJ
Joke

Re: Dinsdale

Have an upvote for trip down memory lane.

Just don't use any sarcasm...

The Post Office systems scandal demands a critical response

DJ
FAIL

On the other hand

If this had happened in The States, the managers at Fujitsu and the Post Office would be receiving bonuses.

Seriously.

The week in weird: Check out the strangest CES tech of 2024

DJ
Coat

Re: Send in the clowns

I'm pretty sure I saw those some time ago, under the Acme brand, and strapped to a rather unfortunate coyote.

(Mine's the one with the Looney Tunes logo.)

Welcome to 2024: Volkswagen really is putting ChatGPT into cars as a gabby copilot

DJ
Coat

File this under

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

Been driving VAG vehicles since 1985. After learning this, there won't be another.

Sadly, what one car builder does, another seems keen to do as well.

Does anyone honestly see any of this as improving things?

(other than profit margins)

Sent from my touchpad whilst driving and eating a sticky-bun.

Mine's the one without a VW key in the pocket. --->

Scientists mull Solar Radiation Management – a potential climate-change stop-gap

DJ

Who's in charge then?

Who gets to decide the fate of planet with their enlightened understanding of how this should work?

Who gets to decide it's working?

Or not?

I think I'm glad it won't be me.

(Please insert pithy remark about humans and planetary management here, if available.)

CEO of self-driving cab outfit Cruise parks his career

DJ

Re: Not going to happen.

Better than which humans, specifically?

The ones paying attention to traffic, weather, and road conditions? Not so much.

The ones checking their 'smart' phones, balancing their checkbooks (I witnessed this firsthand) or doing their makeup? Unquestionably.

Could the real problem be a societal one rather than a technical one?

IBM pauses advertising on X after ads show up next to antisemitic content

DJ
Coat

Who said that?

"X responded to questions from The Register, again providing a statement from an unnamed executive at the company."

Not much point reading the response after that, is there?

Mine's the one with something meaningful to read in the pocket.

FAA is done with Starship's safety review, now it's over to the birds and turtles

DJ
Mushroom

Re: No doubt in my mind

"...requiring in-orbit propellant transfer – itself needing a fuel depot in orbit, filled by a tanker variant of a SpaceX vehicle."

By 2025?

That will happen.

But only in Hollywood.

I believe we've seen this movie before -------> (icon)

Blockchain biz goes nuclear: Standard Power wants to use NuScale reactors for DCs

DJ
Mushroom

Re: Whose paying for waste disposal?

Please describe the source and process of the fuel for these reactors, and also include the process for safely disposing of the waste and byproducts - other than office furniture.

I'm keen to learn more. Really.

Nuclear-powered datacenters: What could go wrong?

DJ

One thing commonly overlooked

is the process of producing the fuel for the reactors.

Fairly nasty business.

No one wants to see the sausages get made, but someone still has to make them.

Perhaps AI will provide the solar breakthrough we desperately need?

/s

Why can't datacenter operators stop thinking about atomic power?

DJ
Meh

Haven't finished this yet, but

it is a rather sobering read: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Accidents-Meltdowns-Disasters-Mountains/dp/1605986801/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1695926974&sr=8-1

(sorry, not very good at HTML)

Perhaps the technology is not as dangerous as we are?

India lands Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Moon, is the first to lunar south pole

DJ
Coat

Tell me again

what it is we're celebrating?

India: first country to put a machine at the south pole of the moon.

India: country with more smart phones that flushable toilets.

Have you been to India in the last five years? More than a few blocks from your hotel?

Mine's the one with the extra dose of reality in the pocket. ----->

California DMV hits brakes on Cruise's SF driverless fleet after series of fender benders

DJ
FAIL

Does make one wonder

Just how rigorous their testing programme is - oh, wait - this IS the testing programme.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled corporate profits vs humanity battle now in progress.

Tesla hackers turn to voltage glitching to unlock paywalled features

DJ
Pint

Re: I need heated seats like…

Old bumper sticker I once saw on an ancient MG:

Why do the English drink warm beer?

Because they have Lucas refrigerators.

Got a good chuckle from that one.

Obligatory icon =============>

Soon the most popular 'real' desktop will be the Linux desktop

DJ

Making a list...

of apps that I truly need. Once I find a Linux version/flavour/distro that accommodates that list, I will be joyfully casting off the Microsoft shackle.

Until then, I'm stuck.

PS: @katrinab - what on earth are 'spillable' functions in Excel?

Microsoft yanks internal Windows 11 testing tool soon after release

DJ
Unhappy

Re: Experimental new features

I think this will be where I get off the Microsoft treadmill train. Enough already.

Tesla to license Full Self-Driving stack to other automakers, says Musk

DJ
Pint

Prediction

Fully automated cars (that work without crashing into things) will arrive at the same time as practical flying cars.

(One shudders to think of the two combined...)

The Friday icon, of course.

EU boss Breton: There's no Huawei that Chinese comms kit is safe to use in Europe

DJ
Black Helicopters

For the less security-savvy among us...

Can someone with the technical chops to understand this stuff please elaborate on why it appears to be so difficult to definitively demonstrate whether anybody's kit is sending data to an unintended destination?

Or are they all in the employ of the [insert secret government agency name here]?

Microsoft and Helion's fusion deal has an alternative energy

DJ
Joke

Don't forget about

Xenix, anyone?

Google says it did not train its AI chatbot Bard on your private emails

DJ
Coat

"But they are incapable of reasoning and cannot tell fact from fiction – making them unsuitable for specific tasks like providing financial advice."

should read:

"But they are incapable of reasoning and cannot tell fact from fiction – making them unsuitable for any meaningful task except political speech writing."

Mine's the one without so much AI in its pocketses...

China crisis is a TikToking time bomb

DJ
Joke

If you belive that

I have a nice data center in Utah I can sell you.

Mine's the one with carbon fiber-lined tinfoil hat in the pocket...

Tesla fires gigafactory staff after someone made the mistake of mentioning unions

DJ
Coat

You work for Elon Musk?

Sorry to hear that, old chap.

Mine's the one without the spliff in the pocket.

Space mining startup prepping to launch 'demo' refinery... this April

DJ
Coat

Re: How does this work?

It doesn't.

Unless you mean getting a few people to be well-paid for a little while.

(Mine's the one with another bit of science fiction in the pocket.)

Tesla misses Q4 delivery expectations as stock keeps sliding

DJ

First to market isn't always the winner

Lotus 1-2-3 anyone?

C: Everyone's favourite programming language isn't a programming language

DJ
Coat

I thought everyone knew this...

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jbruce/humor/unix_hoax.html

(Surely not the original posting, but you get the idea)

Mine's the one with a first edition of K & R in the pocket.

Peekaboo: Once-hidden galaxy revealed to be window into cosmic history

DJ
Coat

I must have dozed off...

...during the part where they explained how particles of matter, e.g. galaxies, etc. are increasing in velocity from the "Big Bang" instead of decreasing.

I'm no genius, but I do know when to say "I don't know".

Then again, I don't get paid to come up with ideas that make no sense at all.

Mine's the one with the number blocks in the pockets...

Cops swoop after crooks use wireless keyfob hack to steal cars

DJ
Coat

Re: Security is hard!

An old chestnut in the automotive world: "The French copy no one, and no one copies the French"

(mine's the one with the non-wireless fob in the pocket...)

Laugh all you want. There will be a year of the Linux desktop

DJ
Unhappy

I don't love Windows...

... and the idea of DaaS from anyone (especially Microsoft) is repugnant beyond description.

Sadly, I use my computers to do things (I do not own any games, consoles, etc.) that require certain pieces of software, almost none of which are currently available for anything other than Windows.

I hadn't even considered the printer issues others have encountered.

What are people like me to do?

Apart from asking software vendors if they wouldn't mind awfully to stop fixing bugs and adding features to create a version of their software for the handful of us Don Quixotes, pretty please?

Like those odds? Me neither.

Is this a bridge too far for Microsoft? Philosophically, yes. Practically, I fear not. And they know it.

I have seen the future, and it is sad.

FCC takes on robotexts. Good news if your dad thinks IRS gives SMS rebates

DJ
FAIL

The FCC will get right on that...

just as soon as they address the blasting volume used on most TV commercials.

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