Posts by ROC

Nokia 5310: Retro feature phone shamelessly panders to nostalgia, but is charming enough to be forgiven

Re: Is it 4G, and can it work as a wifi hotspot?

Considering that AT&T is among those carriers dropping 2G, there is a LOT of point in 4G support for a significant number of users. As with most things, it depends...

Seems to me the Facebook app spoils that "perfection"...

IBM job ad calls for 12 years’ experience with Kubernetes – which is six years old

Re: Why wouldn't Tim Berners-Lee have 17 years experience designing websites?

And the candidate would have only been 11 at that time, so the value of that "experience" would have been rather questionable.

Hey is trying a new take on email – but maker complains of 'outrageous' demands after Apple rejects iOS app

Especially if they "retain" all attachments. Not mine!

Square peg of modem won't fit into round hole of PC? I saw to it, bloke tells horrified mate

Re: Hmmm

Discourage, or punish?

Vivaldi opens up an exciting new front in the browser wars, seeks to get around blocking with cunning code

Re: Let me use whatever browser I want to use.

Yeah, that is more typical of dealings with such monopolies, public or private (e.g. the local utility company). Similarly, if one has been dealing for some time with a business one prefers for most other aspects of its operation, but the browser requirement is not in line with one's preference, it can be a difficult choice ...

Re: A Ubiquitous Weapon for Mass Distraction and Destruction and Disruptive Creation?

What about Chrome OS? Seems as though it has been approximating that goal.

Google sounds the alarm over Android flaw being exploited in the wild, possibly by NSO

Greatly assisted by MS in their Windows Phone self-destruct mindset under Nadella.

Now maybe they are sneaking back into the phone market indirectly with Android phone support on Windows 10 - should be "interesting".

Android dev complains of 'Orwellian' treatment as account banned after 6 years on Play store

How about small claims courts for what would seem to be breach of contract? Being owed thousands of pounds for the past month should qualify, no?

The OS is 'no longer' important to Microsoft, and yet new Surface kit has 3 Windows flavours

Re: Quick earnings - it'sall about beancounters

So are bean counters giving up Excel to count the beans?

The mod firing squad: Stack Exchange embroiled in 'he said, she said, they said' row

Re: Is this just an English thing ?

Ah - maybe something STUPID has happened in the USN, and that explains the recent ship collisions?

The D in Systemd is for Directories: Poettering says his creation will phone /home in future

I notice the past tense in that assertion. I was involved in Solaris sys admin'ing for external customers of the Big Blue from 2001, then directly as contractor, then employee, supporting a global app for a major pharma biz through 2015, and I saw the demand for uptime constantly adding 9's to the uptime requirement.

We responded with clustering, backup systems at alternate DC's, and tighter monitoring with round-the-clock support "following the sun" globally. The "old" ways were constantly pushed and tweaked, so anything perceived as improving the uptime was welcomed. But, perceptions were deceptive, and metrics, and more metrics, were demanded to monitor how well we were doing.

But both still constantly laid off IT support people, thus constantly increasing the load on the remainder in expectations of greater automation efficiency (and cheaper "2nd world" IT labor...). That drove out some people who still had options, thus leaving even fewer to deal with the load.

Glad I'm retired now, and having fun dabbling with Raspberry Pi's among other gear ;-}

Well, from what I recall of Solaris 10's System Manager (forget the exact name as I last used it about 4 years ago before I retired from web app server support for a big global biz but, close enough), it seemed to work a lot like SysD, and was a more comprehensive way to manage clustered and otherwise linked servers. As I have monitored the brouhaha over SysD on Linux, it has struck me as a Solaris Sys Manager wannabe, only more problematic by all accounts.

Mint 17/18/19 with MATE, which keeps the Gnome2 look/feel I grew used to over the last 10 years or so (as my non-techie teacher wife did, following my lead since I was not interested in supporting her school issued Mac, nor Windows), but it still has drunk the SysD koolaid. Guess I need to start re-acquainting myself with BSD's, ando/or Slackware again...

Re: Pottering around at RedHat

And now IBM's ownership of RedHat just amplifies the effect...

One person's harmless japery can be another's night of LaserJet Lego

You're just messing with us. Right?

Re: Heavy...

That first meaning is what I recall from my teenage years, 1960's, in a mid-size Indiana town in the US, mostly in reference to our cars, IIRC.

Re: Heavy...

Hope that was not a WW1 (Great War) battlefield...

As many as 100,000 IBM staff axed in recent years as Big Blue battles to reinvent itself from IT's 'old fuddy duddy'

Re: What redundancy?

I was lucky getting laid off in 2007 after 6.5 years with IBM. At that time, the policy was a week's pay for each 6 months, so that was 13 weeks' pay, plus unused vacation (a fair amount of my 4 weeks per year as it was in May before I had used much). From what I read about ensuing layoffs, it was less with each round.

I also had to "train" my replacements during my last month in order to get the payout, but that was a joke as I was trying to teach some Brazilian WebLogic guys how to support the Oracle Application Server (OAS) instances that I installed from scratch. Between their heavy accents and the constant buzz of Skype phones they used, and my impaired hearing, that was a joke.

The main (US-based) customer I supported got so fed up with "communication problems", that they insisted the support be brought back to the US, so the guy I mentored in NYC took over. That was about 2 years after I left, and I was getting settled back in with my employer prior to the IBM to support OAS. That outfit, being a UK-based company (I worked for US subsidiary), was much more kindly disposed to all the people it also was laying off over the years, to the extent that when my probable "turn" came a few years ago, I was able to volunteer the year I turned 65, so I got a big layoff package based on 18 years of service (before + after IBM) to go with the start of Social Security, and 8 months of medical insurance (kind of complicated the switch to Medicare the next year, but worked out OK, and I still get a med reimbursement allowance throughout retirement). No way I would have done so well at Big Blue.

However, it's no wonder the UK company's stock is pretty stagnant...

Go fourth and multi-Pi: Raspberry Pi 4 lands today with quad 1.5GHz Arm Cortex-A72 CPU cores, up to 4GB RAM...

Re: Good stuff

How about something that to replace the ethernet port with a 3rd USB 3 port, and make the vertical height that much less as with the recent A+ model?

Bad news from science land: Fast-charging li-ion batteries may be quick to top up, but they're also quick to die

Re: In Trumpton, it describes a particular style of play in a hockey game

Send the chips flying, eh?

Re: Instead of better batteries...

There is also the issue that some users are not close enough to cell towers, for the poor reception that can drain batteries, due the nature of their work, and/or their work requires frequent use of their phones. I see that a lot with tradesmen such as carpenters, plumbers, electricians, store stockers who drive from store to store all day long. There are legitimate business needs for long-lasting batteries, and external conditions that drain them.

It's 2019 and a WhatsApp call can hack a phone: Zero-day exploit infects mobes with spyware

Re: Hypocrisy

In RED China, co-opt all businesses by law to be subservient to state "interests". Nice and simple, eh?

Re: Theres a big difference here

Probably it was from that FB "kit" that clueless developers throw into their code just because it's "good coding practice" (per FB guidelines, or whoever's app they were using as a template).

Re: I'm sure

Isn't that how they found out? When their "telemetry" crashed mysteriously. I thought "research" was the purpose of telemtry.

Re: The question is

At least as much as they should be wary of Chinese devs...

Out-of-office email ping-pong fills server after server over festive break

Re: Exchange?

Ironic that Google has dished them the same kind of dogfood ...

A quick cup of coffee leaves production manager in fits and a cleaner in tears

Re: "we were still working out just how things like Windows did work"

Starting from ground zero with each new major update...

Re: Do not unplug!

Well, there are more humane ways to handle these issues such as using surveillance cameras (although the snooping kids on the dark net might post the results to Twitter before you review the footage...)

Windows Subsystem for Linux distro gets a preening, updated version waddles into Microsoft's app store

Re: It is "Embrace, extend, extinguish"

So, with MS "converting" Edge to Chrome, does this mean that Google is the ultimate mover behind the embracing, extending, extinguishing?

Hello, tech support? Yes, I've run out of desk... Yes, DESK... space

Re: Teaching

Thinking that started with Windows 3.0 that my workplace started to roll out a bit, but really took off with 3.1, then everyone was "killing" time with it (while I mostly fooled with getting 3270 terminal emulators to do my IBM mainframe VM/XA operating system support....).

Re: Ah c'mon

Your father SHOULD have been an engineer - sounds like a "natural"

Re: A modern twist

Nah - just turn off the power strip...

Re: Hmm

Would make even more sense now with touch screens ;-}

NexDock 2: Electric Boogaloo. Crowdfunded laptop shell sequel touts less plastic, more pixels

Re: RPi Compute Module

Or a Motorola Lapdock from eBay. $50-100, plus 10-15+ for HDMI cable with micro female on one end, and standard HDMI male on other end; and USB with micro female on one end, and USB-A on other. The 2 micro females must be able to fit together (maybe with a little trimming of the insulation on the end...) on the adjacent micro males sticking up from the flip-out tray on the back. Works with Lumia/Continuum as well as R-Pi's, and can even provide power for the RPi for portable usage.

Just look at Q! Watch out Microsoft, the next Android has a proper desktop PC mode

Re: Nope!

I still have the Verizon CDMA version. Bionic, and really liked the Webtop Linux booted up when plugged into the Lapdock. I looked forward to "Webtop 3" updates for using with the next gen Razr HD that fit right onto the dock, but that was about the time, after Google had taken over Motorola Mobility, that they were cranking up the Chrome books. I suspect they saw Lapdock/Webtop as a threat, and killed it off.

Now I use the Lapdock for Raspberry Pi's (it even powers one to make it a fully portable, if somewhat clunky, laptop), and it even worked as a Lumia 950 Win Phone 10 Continuum peripheral, too.

Now I suppose they are re-inventing Weptop...

All good, leave it with you...? Chap is roped into tech support role for clueless customer

Re: I have a rule these days.

That bag must get a lot bigger over time ....

SPOILER alert, literally: Intel CPUs afflicted with simple data-spewing spec-exec vulnerability

So if you only use a phone for your banking that would be safer from this exploit, right? It's all the other phone vulnerabilities that worry me ...

Re: Imagine if you will

and whether it was a "state actor" mandating by "law" the embedding of the vulnerabilities for their sole use to exploit...

Re: It's interesting...

Raises interesting point of whether a new emphasis by developers (and expectations of their customers!) on more efficient coding, to make up for reduced hardware performance due to eliminating the predictive model, could be something of a palliative?

Re: I am always disappointed in modern computing

Also, back in the 90's, the Internet was hardly the threat vector that it is now, and few anticipated that angle. It seems we need a new protective layer specifically for that source with better Javascript filtering, if that is even possible.

Re: I am always disappointed in modern computing

You are supposed to then ask the pharmacist to put non-childproof lids on your bottles, which any decent one will be happy to do when you explain your need (if they don't already know you well - work on the relationship ;-} )

Re: Well I never ...

Especially the even loonier responses of the Democrats. These children simply refuse to play together nicely. A plague on all their houses.

From hard drive to over-heard drive: Boffins convert spinning rust into eavesdropping mic

I would think that very few organizations/people that have anything worth encrypting would fail to do so. It is a prominent option when setting up a Linux user account in most distros I believe. I have been doing it for my various PC setups for a while now (and that's just personal use by an old retiree).

Re: I wonder if they're the first to discover this

A mic would be visible to visual inspection (if done), but not so much for a firmware mod.

U wot, m8? OMG SMS is back from dead

Re: Or you can just phone me.

I am using Signal on my cell, but only my one tech-savvy son (IT support job) uses it, too. Besides that, it is quite annoying with those automated messages (i.e. the typical appointment reminder) as it urges inviting them to use Signal, too - ain't gonna happen!

With any such service I sign up for, I always choose an email option instead if available. This makes it 'richer', and visible on more platforms/devices than just my cell, and more reliable in delivery (yes, I actually want to see many of them, IF I requested it, not the spammers of course, which Hiya catches to some degree).

Linus Torvalds pulls pin, tosses in grenade: x86 won, forget about Arm in server CPUs, says Linux kernel supremo

Intel server security/performance???

Security, performance, and Intel do not seem to go together so well these days considering Spectre and Meltdown (one of which Google just advised probably can never be fully fixed - don't remember which), and the fixes available so far are big performance hits, which is especially impactful for servers.

Fake broadband ISP support scammers accidentally cough up IP address to Deadpool in card phish gone wrong

Re: Who is to blaim for being taken by scammers?

But using your PIN is only when you initiate the call to a known bank-by-phone number, right?

Re: Disabling javascript

Yeah, dabbled w3m a few times, but its weirdness was a learning curve I didn't feel up to.