* Posts by Paul Crawford

6133 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Mar 2007

FreeBSD fans rally round zVault upstart

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Security

Indeed there are, such as applying AppArmor, having user-writable areas set to no-execute, etc. But also there are always new ways to take over being discovered (even if at a lesser rate than MS gets pwaned). If your ZFS host is on a different OS you can hope said new-takeover flaw is not common to both.

Assuming you don't use the same administrator credentials of course...

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Dumb move by iXsystems

One of the attractions of ZFS is the low-overhead snapshots, excellent if your system is hit be ransomware.

But that presumes that the vulnerabilities that allowed it are not able to take over the ZFS host. Having FreeBSD for your NAS and Linux/Windows for your clients allowed that, making the NAS Linux-based removes one aspect of such security.

China finds a previously unknown microbe on its space station

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Prof. Quatermass has another view point...

Trump announces $175B for Golden Dome defense shield over America

Paul Crawford Silver badge

So clearly the recent DOGE cost-cutting has nothing to do with balancing the USA's books given the huge new spending?

DARPA zaps popcorn with laser power beamed 5.3 miles through air

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: 800W...

If you can find it first...

Adobe turns subscription screw again, telling users to pay up or downgrade

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Gimp

LOL! It seems that the users of GIMP are not the gimps being forced to bend over even further...

Microsoft adds Grok – the most unhinged chatbot – to Azure AI buffet

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Linux

Re: you guys realize

What is this Microsoft slavery you speak of?

Plan to keep advanced chips from China with tracking tech gains support in Congress

Paul Crawford Silver badge

So chips in a data centre with high L-band attenuation through reinforced concrete have GPS? Nope, not going to work...

Chips have to "phone home" so you can check IP address? Hmm, just have open Internet access routed via a VPN to ${Country_of_choice} then.

In related news pigs have been seen flying!

Attackers pwn charter airline helping Trump's deportation campaign

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Most in the USA would be legal aliens, only a few of the natives have survived the onslaught of "civilisation".

37signals is completing its on-prem move, deleting its AWS account to save millions

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: I have this Debian server at home...

Hence rebooting is safest, because then you know that everything is using the new stuff.

You also know it will reboot after that has succeeded, useful when you get a forced reboot on power interruptions, watchdog reset, accidental command in wrong terminal, etc...

US Copyright Office found AI companies sometimes breach copyright. Next day its boss was fired

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Confused

Simple - any book that does not flatter Agent Orange or pander to his legions of range-monkeys...

India ready to greenlight Starlink – as long as it lets New Delhi censor, snoop

Paul Crawford Silver badge

But he wont...not if big money is involved...

EU tells US scientists to dump Trump for a lab in Europe

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Don't forget the non-monetary advantages

Oh dear, back to YouTube as a source of research?

You might want to check that Dr's soundness:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Campbell_(YouTuber)#Ivermectin

If that is not enough, then "...in December 2024 shared his faith and belief in Creationism in an interview with Russell Brand".

CISA slammed for role in 'censorship industrial complex' as budget faces possible $500M cut

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Dumb

Except they are taking PhD students off the street (by masked agents, not by going to them at home or study as the police might in order to ask questions) simply for disagreeing with the gov policy. In a country that claims to offer freedom of speech, how is that acceptable?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tufts-university-pushes-release-student-grabbed-street-immigration-off-rcna199460

Soviet probe from 1972 set to return to Earth ... in May 2025

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Well at least it's not a million to one chance

Ah! That is why Nickleback wanted a swimming pool big enough for "ten plus me"!

Hydrotreated vegetable oil is not an emission-free swap for diesel in datacenters

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: "so probably not comparable to yours."

My feeling is that an ATS is a single point of failure if you only have one, otherwise you also have other single points of failure as well (the generator, the DB that follows the ATS most likely with some incoming breaker, etc). If you are trying to avoid a SPoF then you need dual power routes to each item of equipment, etc, so the ATS is no longer a single path.

Our existing site has no easy way to bypass the ATS because we are cheap, but we do test it regularly (taking site on to generator and off again, so we know it actually switches, the UPS hold up, and no breakers trip). For another client we are including a bypass switch so it can be re-routed in an emergency, or just if maintenance on it needs it powered down.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: "mostly due to the long storage period claimed (up to 10 years)"

You need to be sure the HVO is good quality stuff so its free of remnants of oil, etc, that might clog filters but that should not be an issue with major suppliers. There is also Shell GTL which is a similar paraffinic fuel:

https://www.shell.com/business-customers/commercial-fuels/shell-gtl-fuel.html

HVO is a slightly lower density than diesel so your generator's output power and autonomy are both slightly less (3% I think), but that may still be acceptable in most cases.

https://www.equipmentjournal.com/on-the-job/hvo-versus-diesel-dispelling-the-myths/

We found our generators start just as quick, but they are small units (16kVA - 60kVA) so probably not comparable to yours. I can't believe that you would only test months apart! We do it weekly as it fits in with other schedules and my own feeling is I would not expect my car to sit unused for a couple of months and not have issues of seizing up, etc.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: It'a s start.

BTW low sulphur diesel used in nuclear plant emergency generators is estimated to need replacing every 6 months (it also degrades at >30c storage). HVO (if it stores better) could be a real win for the nuclear industry (No replacing every 6Mo)

We are planning on HVO for our backup generators and it is mostly due to the long storage period claimed (up to 10 years) compared to typical diesel expectation of 6-12 months. The reason is we are looking at several days of run-time for emergencies (arse end of nowhere sort of places so low on the priority list for the grid to fix after a major a storm) but typically they will be tested for 10-20min once a week so fuel will last for a long time. Realistically we will need to refill/cycle the stored stuff maybe every 5 years if HVO lives up to claimed life, just so we keep best part of half a tank of good fuel at all times.

Other factor is the relatively low toxicity and biodegradability of HVO as well, so risks and resulting clean-up cost of a serious clean up on any spillage or leak is far less.

But I have to agree that using it for prime power is bonkers, but so is a lot of what we do as a species :(

Windows isn't an OS, it's a bad habit that wants to become an addiction

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: And yet desktop Linux

I don't care what others use, I'm happy being in that small percent of Linux desktop users.

What I do insist on is if a fried or family member wants me to support them then it is also a Linux desktop they get. So far no real issues, a few minor complaints once about software for kids not being supported, but then I no longer have the "wipe and reinstall after infection in spite of AV" experience that used to be a biannual ritual...

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Facepalm

Sadly every new version of Windows and/or Office plays "hide the useful feature" so you still have major training costs.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Longer term those hardware specialities will be a problem for Windows as well when new drivers for the recent incarnation of Windows cease to be developed. Being able to put those machines on an isolated VLAN, etc, and using the IoT versions of Windows so less demands on networking and other crap would allow some use and safety once the OS goes out of support.

At the end of the day you pay your money/privacy/sanity and you take your choice. For me it is only a few special CAD packages for old days I need, and they run in VMs OK (including older versions of Office) so I use Linux as my first choice these days.

Linux still sucks, but the taste of donkey balls is far less...

Techie diagnosed hardware fault by checking customer's coffee

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Toasty

Depends on the length, if the loss of several kW is over 100m or so you would hardly notice the heating at any one point. For short cables the usable capacity is normally set by the thermal heating effects, but for long cables it is the voltage drop that usually* does it.

[*] the 3rd limit is being able to disconnect under fault conditions fast enough for safety, that is more complicated as it depends on the characteristics of the protection device (fuse, circuit breaker, etc) and the supply (fault impedance / earthing type).

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Never heard of Romex cables?

Or even simpler as 3&E or T&E

In the USA it is usually 2-phase split supply so 120V - 0V - 120V plus earth/ground. Big loads use the 240V from the outer set, smaller loads are 120V off either half.

In the UK it is rare for a domestic property to have 3-phase, and when it does it is usually either a very big place with a few single-phase boards on different floors/wings, or there are a couple of big loads like fast EV charger, or a big water heater or heat-pump. So the 3&E cable is almost always seen in small sizes (1mm^2 or 1.5mm^2) and used for two-way light switches, even though it is rated for 400V/230V 3-phase use

With few exceptions (simple heaters or motors, for example) 3P equipment also needs a neutral as it will have either an imbalanced load or a few single phase loads in addition to a big 3P one (for example controller logic on 230V and a 3P motor system using the 400V delta) so when you do see it wired it is normally 4 core plus an earth (could be a 5th conductor, or the steel armour of some cables).

NTT creates a drone that triggers and catches lightning – then keeps flying

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Good to go, again

I'm glad you have the capacity to laugh. Some have too much reluctance.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Good to go, again

There may be some resistance to that suggestion.

Brit soldiers tune radio waves to fry drone swarms for pennies

Paul Crawford Silver badge

There has been work on relativistic magnetrons with GW peak output powers:

https://pubs.aip.org/aip/mre/article/4/6/067201/253062/Review-of-the-relativistic-magnetron

"In 1985, Benford et al. developed a 6.9 GW, 4.5 GHz relativistic magnetron. In the late 1980s, and early 1990s, they studied phase locking and high-repetition-rate operation. They also developed the ORION HPM test source for the UK in the early 1990s. These advances at Physics International are reviewed below."

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Here's an idea

Pigs take off, fried bacon comes down....

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Countermeasures?

Yes, you could do all of that and make a proper EMP hardened device like the the multi-million pound missiles. But then you have lost the drone's main advantage which is cost due to it being a mass-produced product using commercial off-the-shelf parts.

Developer scored huge own goal by deleting almost every football fan in Europe

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Number games

Was that the Marklar vs. Marklar game?

Heat can make Li-Ion batteries explode. Or restore their capacity, say Chinese boffins

Paul Crawford Silver badge

“unusual behavior, contrary to conventional thermodynamic expectations”

I wonder what those Chinese boffins were up to that lead to such unexpected behaviour?

Was it a prank that led to one of those real discoveries?

White House confirms 245% tariff on some Chinese imports not a typo

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Rare earths

The problem is not solved by grabbing Greenland. As one reg writer in the past so succinctly put it, the difference between ore and dirt is the economics of extraction.

The USA (and other countries) real problem is not a lack of high-concentration "dirt" but the lack of refining capacity, and for the rare earth metals that is hard because they are all so similar in chemical terms. That well-developed refining capacity is what China has to give it dominance (along with a disregard for environmental factors relating to it, but I bet the USA would be much the same).

Microsoft blames 'latent code issue' after Windows 11 upgrades sneak past admin blockades

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Linux

Oh dear, how sad, never mind.

Russians lure European diplomats into malware trap with wine-tasting invite

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Just wine?

More, totally crackers!

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Facepalm

A legitimate PowerPoint executable, wine.exe

There is so much wrong with that statement, and once again makes me glad not to be using Windows for my main computer...

Uncle Sam kills funding for CVE program. Yes, that CVE program

Paul Crawford Silver badge

The argument for Galileo was not about normal peace-time situations, but in some sort of conflict region when other big players decide to deny use of their own systems / degrade accuracy for that region as they have skin in the conflict's game.

In the past we assumed the USA would be on the side of 'the west' & democracy, while it was considered obvious that Russia and China would not cooperate even if just out of principle. Now all bets are off for GPS.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Yes, in fact the whole program was supposed to be a commercial service but nobody ever expected that to fly. It was just the EU wonks trying to put a market spin on something they knew they needed for strategic / military reasons but didn't have the wider support to push it for that alone.

Now of course it seems like a very wise investment...

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: When wet dreams become reality.

Not in a certain leader's mind...

4chan, the 'internet’s litter box,' appears to have been pillaged by rival forum

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Oh dear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f8BBTbWSzk

Google Cloud’s so-called uninterruptible power supplies caused a six-hour interruption

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Joke

Re: Chicken-and-Egg

And...that was the reason for the outage folks, the AI monitoring system consumed more power then the UPS....

Paul Crawford Silver badge

We had Dell-branded Eaton a while back, generally quite good models but eventually end of life failures after a decade or so of use and at least one battery change.

Currently using Riello which have proven reliable so far (touch wood!) but the web interface sucks a bit.

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Facepalm

You had just one job to do...

...and that is keeping power on. I wonder who the UPS vendor is?

From bitter experiences we had some Dell-branded APC 5kVA UPS and they were useless, often failing when tested and failed-hard, internal bypass also broken. Out of 5 in total they were all dead within 2 years of operation. APC now owned by Schneider, so I wonder if that crap has appeared elsewhere?

EU gives staff 'burner phones, laptops' for US visits

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Hope you have a good backup process!! Then..........

I always have a cheap laptop, partly as I'm cheap myself, but very much for the high likelihood of theft or damage.

Microsoft OneDrive file sync apps for Windows, Mac broken for 10 months

Paul Crawford Silver badge

"Microsoft don't care."

Why should they? You keep paying them money, so what exactly is their problem with this situation?

Intel flogs off majority stake in Altera to private equity for $4B

Paul Crawford Silver badge

I think the plan had been to include FPGA cores within the CPU to allow ultra-fast offloading of some types of calculation where it might not be a 'standard' addition (like AES, etc) for bespoke DSP use, etc.

But one way or another, having got something Intel failed to make much out of it, selling at a loss a few years later. Just like most other things they have had/tried and dropped.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Yet again Intel gives up on anything non-x86, even when that range is in slow decline in the face of ARM and RISC-V...

Resellers may be sitting on costly pile of regret after US smartphone shopping spree

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Given that tariffs are coming back, maybe, probably, I expect the price rises will come really quickly. Even with ample stock...

Pidgin is back, so let's talk about why a local chat client matters

Paul Crawford Silver badge

I used Pidgin with Yahoo back in the day, until that service folded and/or friends had been borged by FB, etc.

Pentagon celebrates snipping 0.58% from defense budget in IT, DEI cuts

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Actually

You have a very valid point, but doing so means appointing competent people to senior positions, those with a knowledge of both the work to be done and how to manage a commercial entity.

Not just lickspittles who happen to tow the party line and have bugger-all in the way of useful competence...

China ups tariffs on US goods to 125%, calls Trump's war a 'joke'

Paul Crawford Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Who has the biggest hands

If I were Xi I would put the tariffs back on those good going out to the USA, until Trump properly folds.

Paul Crawford Silver badge

Re: Who has the biggest hands

Unlike Putin, who plays him like a pink oboe.