Posts by Tim Russell

It had to happen: Microsoft's cloudy Windows 365 desktops are due to land next month

Re: Yo Dawg

Have been doing this with Guacamole for the last 5 years....

Not on your Zoom, not on Teams, not Google Meet, not BlueJeans. WebEx, Skype and Houseparty make us itch. No, not FaceTime, not even Twitch

Re: Yes, but no, but ....

Eye contact (An unfair point to focus on .. forgive the pun) is just one... the broken social ques aligns to an assumption that we can not learn to work with the remaining 'language' we receive from the speaker.

Yes, but no, but ....

Start with my gut feeling and you can decide to read further, or not. The article feels technofobia-esq..... Video is part of the interaction, we don't talk to each other f2f with our eyes closed why when we are virtual would we do the same?

First the Yes: I agree, interoperability should be there and the likes of Synergy Sky are addressing this, at least on an enterprise scale.

But: for telephone numbers we have the e164 plan, and internationally agreed scheme, and governed by various organisations globally to keep telcos in check. Video is usually your email address and although these are governed at a domain level to an extent, they are in no way comparable to e164 numbering.

No: Video has a place, interoperability aside. It can not replace F2F or physical social interactions but it can and does augment conversations. This I believe is split into two camps, work and play.

Work: When you are on an audio only call, you go on mute, cut the grass, go shopping etc; you are not paying attention to the call, especially if like me you can only really do one thing at a time. Video helps the end user to concentrate on the task at hand. Video also provides an insight into body language that you can only hear from audible sighs in an audio conference, where as eye rolls, frowns, shrugs are all automatic reactions that video allows us to see and react to. If I am presenting to a large audience, I can change the talk track form this body language, I cna also gain interest from where my audience is looking.

Play: If I judge this by the number of idiots I see walking around supermarkets on facetime with the speaker on (No ear phones) I think you are in the minority; people want the video. Conversations with the new work force, gen Z is generally limited to 30-60 seconds; they don't have the staying power for a long conversation, so you receive blitzed short full immersion conversations. Video is required for this, look at their utilisation of snap, they send audio clips to each other instead of typing a response... Video is here to stay.

Finally, there is a market for video, it is in the meetings and conferencing space, just like YouTube, video adds more than just a flat written document, or recorded narration. Lighting and appearance is being understood and VC is evolving; look at Amazon and the face lights, ring lights, back drops etc, the market is supporting and growing to increase not reduce VC usage.

"Dr. Emmett Brown : [holding Marty's video camera] No wonder your president has to be an actor. He's gotta look good on television." - We are all in this position now, our presence helps support and promote attention and whatever it is we are trying to communicate.

Uber jams Arizona robo-car project into reverse gear after deadly smash

Fail Safe #Fail ?

What I don't understand is the failure to have a Fail Safe or Alert system, this is after all a developmental vehicle???

[quote from the NTSB report]

According to Uber, emergency braking maneuvers are not enabled while the vehicle is under computer control, to reduce the potential for erratic vehicle behavior. The vehicle operator is relied on to intervene and take action. The system is not designed to alert the operator.

[/quote]

Ugly, perfect ten-rated bug hits Cisco VPNs

Re: Again, no one cares!

I have to disagree... people do care but the line between the programmer who missed one colon, sub-routine, class etc and the high flying exec who is pushing for the healthy bottom line is too far apart.

The two ends of the scale can not comprehend each other and the distance between them in the large multi-national businesses ensures a dis attachment that means they care not about each other and the drivers and goals they are each working towards. A programmer is proud of his code and a CFO proud of his balance sheet, until one understands the other fully what we see here will continue... IMHO

CK Hutchison/O2: 'Four networks' dogma risks one giant and three hopeless dwarves

Re: Seems to me...

You mean like the DSL market, let one company deliver the copper connectivity and the others deliver services... yep that's worked out well!

....or maybe you mean like one company operating the rails and another the trains, another prime example!

I'm sorry but the Utopian idea is good, realism tells us it will fail.

Cisco says CLI becoming interface of last resort

I agree, show me the GUI for nbtstat -R .... yes I know probably there somewhere but, CMD right click, run as admin and done... sound complicated but it is far less blood pressure raising!

Last flying Avro Vulcan, XH558, prepares for her swan song

Re: It's wonderful, but...

Metal Fatigue and the unknown unknown... It is sad but what would we think if the last Vulcan crashed because of an unknown metal fatigue issue....

The Register Monopoly Pubcrawl Mobile Map: VODAFONE VICTOR in LONDON

Like.. but....

If you wanted to give me a true indication of the best UK network (London is all about Underground WiFi IMHO) I'd like to know which of the nations train routes has the best coverage....

I can drive to meetings and use my mobile to find the route, but when it really counts is when I'm on a train travelling across the country preparing for my meetings or other similar 'internet connection required' activity.

I'm not alone I am sure in finding that some intercity routes may boost excellent occasional coverage, usually around larger population centres, but in-between stations it(the signal) seems to drop into an abyss.

So once again, well done, fun to read, but can we expand this?

World's only flyable WWII Lancaster bombers meet in Lincs

Re: Love that noise

And all three should be flying together this year.... Two Lancs and a Vulcan...drool

..and trains

Don;t forget the Deltic, running with Twin Merlins!

Apple fanbois warned: No, Cupertino HASN'T built a Bitcoin mining function into Macs

#FreeTards

I love this... not a supporter of 4Chan etc, but "get rich quick" or "something for nothing" idiots make me laugh, especially if they go and do this without having a clue what they are doing...

Bank card-slurp nasty 'infects tills, ATMs', corrupt staff fingered

Common denominator....

...lUsers and Windoze...

..but seriously POS information on Windows architecture in an unencrypted format... isn't that what PCI-DSS is for ?!?!

No one likes having their money fiddled with!

UK's oldest working telly up for sale

@ Rhydian

"A Home-made modulator with leads, contained within metal OXO tin chassis;"

Excellent... I want to see that :)

DIMENSIONAL PORTAL INCURSION AT THE LHC!

@STU

Fugging A man!

Avatar renders this earthly life meaningless

Ok seen it twice, haven't contemplated suicide...

...am I normal ?

The film is certainly not everyones taste but I liked it, then again I liked 5th Element.

Re: Pandora = New Zealand, I don't think so, went there (NZ) didn't see any blue people.

Dutch court clogs Pirate Bay

Copyright? Where?

Pirate bay host links and not software, where's the copyright theft?

BREIN = Fail!

SpinVox: The Inside Story

Carriers..

..are not going to sk to see the technology, they're gonna ask for a discount and continue using the service, albeit probably under another name!

Mel Gibson to put hand up Jodie Foster's Beaver

Hehe

Excellant end to the week, Fuq the IT angle, I needed a larf :)

Google scrubs urinating woman from Street View

Bottoms up!

This is absolutly cracking end to the year, Google streetview becomes Google peepview :)

Aussie convicted over Simpsons sex pics

And Manga then?

How old are the Simpsons, I mean how long have they been around? 20 years+/- so no pedos here.... or is it because the image is of a child likeness? This can't stand up to an appeal... right? or as it really reached rock bottom?

Lewis Hamilton mulls riding Virgin

Hmmm, choices

Would I rather being joining the 100mile club with Sigourney or Lewis's missus.....

Royal Society of Chemistry requests 'Italian Job' ending

Blow the bloody doors off...

...or not ?

Ice in fuel caused Heathrow 777 crash

Ice Fuel etc

Plane flew through an unusually cold area: Could this mean more ice or more densely packed ice or a single slab of ice in the tank as opposed to bits ?

Why when landing: From cruising to landing throttle is moved back, in the report at 720ft they attempted to throttle up thus sucking harder on the fuel tank, could this have pulled the bigger than usual bits of ice into the pipes?

Further: If the ice had formed a large slab/iceberg during decent the temperature would have changed an the ice would probably have broken apart (See global warming for a working example:))

So the "changed" factor is the duration of flight in a colder than normal climate. The only problem is it can't be proven.

BTW: is not the correct British date format January 17th 2008 ?

Linux desktop freaks out Ubuntu man

I'm in agreement..

Don't replace Windows with Linux, dual boot. Have done it to all the PC's and Laptops here. The missus uses XP I use Linux, but we are not restricted to only using "The XP Laptop" or the "Linux PC".

Best way to learn and if you put Linux over Windows, you're gonna have forgotten to transfer something!

And lets hope the comments if/when they turn up don't end up being the My OS is better than your OS because......etc!

Anti-Kremlin website owner shot dead in police custody

@ Yorkshirepudding

Your a fax machine ?

Council clamps down on 'man on the street'

PC used to mean Police Constable, now it means Pile of Crap!

"This includes the sensitivity of various individuals and groups, and current thinking in society in general."

So for the troubled few they decide to enlighten everyone. I sure as hell don't have a problem with "man on the street" and most defiantly don't assume it means a man!

Actors paid to queue for Poland's iPhone launch

Remember when...

Many years ago when I was... lets say a lot younger we used to go out and play like good children and come home. We didn't have watches, we didn't have mobile phones. My dad went to work on the underground where even if you had a phone you would have not been able to call. My parents spoke to each other in the morning and in the evening, it was pleasent and relaxed.

Now why does everyone want to go mad over what phone you have? If you can store a number, dial it, answer it and talk into it and the phone works for 48 hours is that not enough... or am I missing the picture, has the phone become the new penis extension seeing as the car has to be left in the parking garage, but the phone is something you can whip out in the meeting room? And don't start with the MP3 and Agenda items, If you can't remember where you need to be for the next 8 hours, find another job, and MP3's that's just anti-social, try talking to people instead of ignoring them.

I personally don't give a monkeys uncle what phone I have, it must do what I need when I need it. If someone else has a bigger, smaller or louder phone why should I care, and why should you care? Buy what you want, use what you want and let everyone else Apple fan or otherwise buy what they want.

Back to the story: Can anyone fathom why Orange believed staging a queue would increase sales? That is the bottom line, you don't pay for actors to line up without a goal. Re the any publicity is good publicity, I'm not buying that.

Mines the one with: Long live the 80's

Dutch unlocked iPhone site takes €700,000 then goes offline

At dutchie haters..

...as a Brit living in the NL you can sometimes feel it's a bit like that. The main reason is that the average Dutch person is a lot more straight forward in conversations than us Brits. We have 50 ways of saying "I'm going to stick this knife in your back the moment you turn around" in British (as opposed to English which can sometimes be confused as meaning American), the Dutch would just say, "you turn around, I stick a knife in your back"!

The other change I noticed is, if you live here learn the fugging language, it's not that difficult!

Back to the story... SUCKERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

BT slams bandwidth brakes on all subscribers

Over subscription

If your a residential customer you can expect anything from 1:10 to 1:25 over subscription. You get what you pay for! You want a real 20mb line (That's what we have over here btw) then you need to get a business connection and pay for.

Stop being such a group of freeloaders! This isn't anthing new.

Baptist church in assault rifle giveaway

Gun not used for killing ?

[quote]My goodness, we’re putting a weapon in the hand of somebody that doesn’t respect it who are then going to go out and kill.[/quote]

What other F***ing use has a gun apart from killing things? Intentionally shooting to injure is against the Geneva convention as it is classed as torture, doing as a person I'm not sure, but it will certainly mean the person you shot can answer back in court. (Read http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/burglary_shooting)

Boeing to build combo airship-copter flying cranes

Loads of opportunities

@Gavin

http://www.zeppelintours.com/flyingwhales/4521248676

@Tim (The other one)

Skyhooks, yeah I remember that and spark plugs for a diesel :)

iRobot Roomba 560 robot vacuum cleaner

Romba Discovery SE (4 years old..)

I've been using a Roomba for four years, and yes a vacuum cleaner or a broom will usually do better but as my wife and I both work, the iRobot solution works well for us to keep the dust level down. Just the same as you can clean around the furniture and it looks okay, now and again you actually need to remove the furniture and carry out a good spring clean. The same is true for the Roomba in my experience, it keeps the dust level down, but every now and again you'll need to get your hands dirty.

With regards to the mopping, there is also a mopping Roomba :)

BBC continues to milk great tits

"Tits block butt bin."

and other silly titles....

Prank callers crash Dublin Zoo phone system

I once got sent to ask for....

... a set of spark plugs for a 2.5 liter diesel land rover....

That said I like the Amanda Hugenkis in the title :)

US teen cuffed for disposable camera 'Taser'

"an electronic demobilizing device" I think not...

Quote "an electronic demobilizing device"

FFS it's not an electronic demobilizing device, it is an unmodified disposable camera!

If there was a sticker on the back saying danger of electrocution do not open, I'd understand.

Are the police willing to ruin this kids life when all he was doing was showing an active scientific interest in a readily available camera... oh and being a normal teenage plonker like we all once were! (Or at least most of us)

Jules Verne creeps up on ISS

HEO, MEO and LEO

high earth orbit (HEO)

Geostationary or communications satellites PARKED @ 22,300 miles

medium earth orbit (MEO)

GPS satellites ORBIT at a height of about 12,000 miles

low earth orbit (LEO)

LEO includes orbits having apogees (high points) and perigees (low points) between about 100 km and 1,500 km. The space shuttle and the international space station are in a low earth orbit (LEO) to avoid the Van Allen radiation belts.

Source and more information: http://www.reformation.org/geostationary-satellites.html

Geert Wilders faces legal threats over footage copyright

The real point is imigration and acceptance of your host countries culture and beliefs.

Wow that's a long title.

First and foremost I'm not a support of Wilders. However, one of the points he attempts to make is the integration of immigrants into host countries and his stand point that they should at least make an effort to uphold the traditions and beliefs of the country they intend to reside in. It is not the intention that people change religion.

If my wife goes to a middle eastern country, she can expect to be spat on, if she lets her shoulders show, or knees, or walks in public openly showing "intimate acts" such as holding hands. If we as foreigners can change our behaviour so as not to offend when we visit other countries, why is it so difficult to then expect the same from visitors to our country?

As a further note, I am not Dutch, I'm English but I live here now. I've taken the time to learn the language, follow the rules and pay tax. I am however constantly baffled by the number of foreigners living here who do NONE of the above, and then preach about freedom of their religious beliefs!

Transgender man prepares to give birth

Your missing the main point..

....and that is the opening line of the story: "A Oregon man who was born a woman..."

I always thought that when you are born you are either male/female or hermaphrodite. At that age you can not think like a man or like a women, you are what your are (is what ya is etc).

Am I barking up the wrong tree, or is my preconception right?

Coat for the preconception line ;)

Airline pilot sacked for 777 Top Gun stunt

@ Tim Spence

Only suspended from training duties, he can still fly.

Personally I think top job, wish I had done it, just as John Macintyre said; Quality with a capital Q, font +2 and underlined :)

Ton-up electric Reliant Robin offered for '09

Bike is <4 wheels and <500kg usually speaking

What I'm trying to work out is: loads of HP from batteries, how heavy are these batteries going to be and what is the potential/kinetic energy of that lump moving at say 70mph. Personally I'd want to see an ejector seat or crash test before stepping into it!

Dutch fire up petrol-pumping robot

Petrol or Diesel.. answer

All road legal Dutch cars are registered in the RDW (DVLA) database. This database is openly available and the fuel type for all registered vehicles can be looked up. I am interested to know however if it can tank foreign cars, if indeed it does use the number plate to identify fuel sort.

Link: https://www.rdw.nl/Ovi/ (Use 56-NR-KK as example)

PS: I'll be heading out there this weekend to give it a go, photos will be posted... somewhere!

We miss the real point....

....if this works the EU will be standardising the location, form, size etc of all petrol caps.

Some idiot in the EU will probably already be formulating reports to demonstarte that people are inherently stupid and must not be trusted with flammable substances!

Leave it to the robots? I think not.