Posts by david bates

Dell: 60% of our people won't be going back into an office regularly after COVID-19

Re: So the next logical step is...

> This "new normal" looks quite abnormal for humanity, if I may be so ambitious in expressing myself.

Except that until fairly recently it was ENTIRELY normal for humanity. 200 years ago many people didn't travel more than a few miles outside their village. Even a hundred years ago most people wouldn't be popping to their local city.

For a lot of us the only reason we go into cities is to work, and then we get out as soon as we can. The internet has, thank God, reduced the need to go in to shop. The cities can go hang - I can see this new life invigorating towns that have for the last 100 years been drained into the local big city.

Intel couldn't shrink to 7nm on time – but it was able to reduce one thing: Its chief engineer's employment

Smaller processes as I understand it bring potential for faster chips and lower power usage.

UK's Co-operative Group to centralise IT teams across various divisions, warns redundancies 'inevitable'

Re: Boo

Not evil?

Even ignoring the Crystal Methodist CoOp try to chase out local business. In Crewe an undertaker opened a site. Co Op funerals opened next door, and then closed when the independent didn't fold. Turns out they weren't bothering to embalm people either, so refunds had to be given, which is beside the point.

Their shops are hugely expensive and their own brand stuff is rubbish.

The whole ethical thing is a whitewash as far as I can see, and they're not a company I do business with.

Heir-to-Concorde demo model to debut in October

Re: Can an electric powered plane fly supersonically ?

You can do it with an unshielded nuclear reactor, which is nearly electric.

O2 be a fly on the wall during BT and Vodafone's video calls: Telefónica's UK biz, Virgin Media officially merge

Re: Ha ha

I won't - I moved from O2s just about acceptable network to GiffGaff, which was obviously the same network , but with less reliability (somehow) and 'ask the person sitting next to you on the bus - perhaps they can help...?' customer support. A plague on BOTH their houses.

I jumped ship to 3 and haven't looked back.

Review of IR35 is in: Quelle surprise, UK.gov will forge ahead with controversial tax reforms in the private sector

Re: complete ****show

And the construction industry, entertainment industry, oil industry.....Google News IR35 related stuff on my feed and it comes from all over. Its not just an IT problem.

What's big, blue, and hands out pink slips? IBM on Thursday: Word spreads of job cuts

Re: 340,000 vs. 2,000

WeatherUnderground takes a LONG time to load.

It loads weather for the US in F, realises who I am, reloads weather for my local area then usually does it again cos I have my temperatures in C.

Not to mention they closed the APIs for WU. I know they're giving the WU service for free, but they're also getting a huge amount of weather data that they should be able to monetise somehow...

Windows Defender update: So secure, it wouldn't let Secure-Boot Windows PCs, er, boot

Re: My personal Windows 10 update....

Mine was - but unfortunately Mint will no longer install on my system due to a long-running bug installing GRUB. I've had to move to Ubuntu but I'm not really enjoying the experience and will be back to Mint as soon as they get round to fixing the issue.

Peak Apple: This time it's SERIOUS, Tim

Re: So where is the new market ?

My Androids connect as soon as I get into the car, then connect to my bluetooth headphones when I leave the car.

More nodding dogs green-light terrible UK.gov pr0n age verification plans

Re: Just like buying a magazine.

Presumably you work in IT.

Presumably you have a router.

Presumably its not beyond your wit to lock the damned thing down sufficiently to control what your kids are doing online....

Where to implant my employee microchip? I have the ideal location

Re: Security is always fun

Card doesn't. Lanyard does.

WebSphere and loathing in New York: IBM yanks buggy application server security fix from admins

Due to regression

Yes lads. There's a whole phase of testing that's supposed to cover that....I wonder what went wrong....

Plusnet customers peeped others' deets during system upgrade

Re: We've asked the Information Commissioner's Office to confirm it is aware of the issue. ®

Unless it has changed recently PlusNet store your password in plain text and will email it out to you. This is safe because reasons, so I'm not surprised.

Wearable hybrids prove the bloated smartwatch is one of Silly Valley's biggest mistakes

Re: Smart watches should be simple

That's pretty much a Pebble... Until fitbit killed it.

Mind you they've killed it nicely and left it open for other people to offer support.

The Notch contagion is spreading slower than phone experts thought

You can get little adapters that change micro-USB to USB-C for pennies on Amazon...

Re: Charge by wire

I've found that my Wileyfox Swift X will stop charging if Im using the GPS and its a hot day in the car. Presumably this will be even more of a problem for wireless charging.

Re: Charge by wire

How am I supposed to charge my phone when its in the third party cradle in my car being used for GPS if it has to lie flat on a charging pad? How am I supposed to charge it from a power bank when Im out and about?

I've never had a USB port fail - its always the plug that fails by design. I dunno what you're doing with your phones...

Giffgaff admits to billing faff, actually tells folk to turn it off and on again

Re: * Posts by Enemy of the State 2 posts • joined 29 Jun 2018

Pretty much my experience. O2's horrible network and platform with another even more horrible platform nailed on top.

Issues? Why not see if the man at the bus stop or the checkout lady in Morrisons has the answer for you! Sometimes cheap ends up quite expensive.

Buttonless and port-free: Expect the next iPhone to be as smooth as a baby's bum

My Pebble Steel has both...

How often are you going to want to use the compass, not be able to recalibrate AND be on charge at the same time?

TSB meltdown latest: Facepalming reaches critical mass as Brits get strangers' bank letters

Re: ... and Crapita

Nat West tried this line with me when I opened letters for the last owners of my house. I opened the letters because I did not want the bailifs turning up on my doorstep trying to recover their debts.

As I'd already informed NatWest that the people they wanted did not live at my house I managed to wring an admin fee out of them.

Brit healthcare system inks Windows 10 install pact with Microsoft

Re: M$ should be paying us!

One could very well argue that if something as widely used on Windows 10 as Classic Shell is running then Windows 10 should be aware that instability could ensue and not do the upgrade.

An upgrade breaking some slightly esoteric piece of software Im running I can accept...an upgrade causing a popular third party piece of software to make the system unstable is just unacceptable.

Eurocrats double down on .eu Brexit boot-out

Unlikely.

Knowledge of domains, URLs and an inkling of how the internet works suggests this way, way above Ambers paygrade.

AMD CEO Su: We like GPU crypto-miners but gamers are first priority

Re: Can I see some b*** motherboards

Amazon has AMD miniITX mobos - I just bought one with a Trinity chip to replace the crappy Atom one that lost its ethernet port and couldn't sustain an ethernet USB connection without locking up.

Time to ditch the front door key? Nest's new wireless smart lock is surprisingly convenient

"The Nest+Yale lock uses Google's Thread IoT protocol to communicate with its Connect bridge – or its Secure home station if you have that. This is a smart move as it puts a buffer between the lock and the internet. It's going to make hacking the door to open a much harder affair."

Without knowing the ins-and-outs of the security involved I'm can't help but feel this is the triumph of hope over experience....

T-Mobile Austria stores passwords as plain text, Outlook gets message crypto, and more

PlusNET also holds passwords as plain text and sees nothing wrong with that - nothing can go wrong because of reasons I didn't fully understand.

It is, however, the main reason I left them.

Mind the gap: Men paid 18.6% more than women in Blighty tech sector

But you have graduations with 'tech'. From experience testers are not far off 50/50 split genderwise and I'd say I've worked for more female team leaders than male.

Your mouse can't reach that Excel cell? Buy a 'desk extender' said help desk bluffer

Re: Windows 2.1x

I've managed that numerous times on Windows 7.

No Windows 10, no Office 2019, says Microsoft

Re: As soon as Windows 7 support finishes

Well you say that but for me Linux has never lunched its registry, slowed to a crawl because it wants to update even thought I've told it not to (Windows 10), succumbed to viruses or malware, forced a reboot when I'm in the middle of something or just decided, for no very good reason, to stop working.

Most people these days don't install anything much beyond games once initial setup is done. My dad and my uncle both moved from XP to Mint Mate. I no longer get support calls and they're both very happy.

As far as I can see gaming and what machines are sold with are the only things holding Linux back in the home. If you want an appliance PC Mint is a much better choice than Win10.

Nest's slick IoT burglar alarm catches crooks... while it eyes your wallet

Tesco offered me a generous £6 off for having a professionally fitted alarm - but then required it to be switched on at night and every time I left the house.

No. Its there, it works, I dont bother to tell the insurance company.

From the graaaaaave! WileyFox's Windows 10 phone delayed again

Re: Only but if you like shit customer service.

I've got a Swift X, and I must say its had multiple updates in the last 4 months. I didn't like the Truephone dialer and when I complained (because for some reason I couldnt find the Google dialer to download) customer service sent me the correct apk.

The latest update has fixed the only issue I had with the phone, which was that the signal strength was noticably worse than the Zenfone 2 I had previously. Battery life seems great.

The launcher seems inoffensive, but I aways swap out for the Google launcher, so I can't comment too much.

I'd have no problem recommending a Wileyfox to friends or family based on my experience.

Foil snack food bags make a decent Faraday cage, judge finds

Re: Has anybody actually tested this?

A shiny anti-static bag will do just as well. Just fold the top over.

Tesla reveals a less-long-legged truck, but a bigger reservation price

Re: 400 mile charge in 30 minutes isn't gonna to be easy - natural gas

Longbridge did - they had a combined heat and power gas turbine.

Heaven knows what happened to that when SAIC took over.

Boss made dirt list of minions' mistakes, kept his own rampage off it

Re: Not IT-related

Thank you for that. I always wondered what that was on Arriva Wales trains. I'd vaguely decided it was the train going through some sort of gearbox, but hadn't worked out quite why it needed so many gears....

That makes much more sense and I can die happy.

Abolish the Telly Tax? Fat chance, say MPs at non-binding debate

Umm...but the BBC buy in a lot from independent production companies...thats why BakeOff is on Ch4 now.

The BBC also have a record for producing utter dross - see about 50% or 'comedy' and drama on R4.

I used to listen to Radio 4 at lot. Now seems to be obsessed with music and 'the stories of ordinary people'. I barely bother these days. Sometimes the Archers, sometimes Today for background noise. Everything else has become so dumbed down over the last few years I can't tolerate it.

The BBC has nothing I want and TBH if it vanished tomorrow I really wouldn't miss it.

Arm Inside: Is Apple ready for the next big switch?

Or same battery life but a couple of mills thinner...shall we place bets?

Pawnbroker pwnd: Cash Converters says hacker slurped customer data

Re: Stating the obvious

Actually I found it rather amusing.

DXC spills AWS private keys on public GitHub

Re: Techie dummy?

Ah - do it once and you're on the hook forever. For them, and their relatives, and their friends....

MPs slam HMRC's 'deeply worrying' lack of post-Brexit customs system

Re: No problem ...

Actually the issue is more to do with the deluded remainers who told the Civil Service not to bother preparing for a Leave vote because it would never happen...

Possibly the same deluded remainers who told us Europe would never have a joint armed force...http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/emmanuel-emmanuel-macron-eu-army-joint-defence-budget-french-president-nato-britain-brexit-russia-a7968346.html

Amazon to make multiple Lord of the Rings prequel TV series

Re: Running up stairways of falling rocks

While Bombadil is deeply annoying what actually IS he?

Theres a massive backstory there (unless its covered in the books I couldn't get through). A being who resists the power of the ring utterly, commands nature and dark spirits, but is not all-powerful?

I'd like to know more.

Red Hat opens its ARMs to Enterprise Linux... er, wait, perhaps it's the other way round

Re: What is really needed...

But you KNOW the vendors would make a hash of it.

My netbook came with an abomination of Linux that had to be nuked before it became anything like usable.

My Acer nettop came with Linux, but sadly they had not been able to stretch to a wireless driver for the wireless hardware it actually contained, and was advertised on the box.

Sometimes I think they set themselves up to fail so they can say "Well, we tried and noone liked it" so they can go back to the easy Wintel formula.

Audio spy Alexa now has a little pal called Dox

For what purpose?

Its not going to pick up any industrial secrets, and the first time it raises a suspicion of acting on things its heard rather than been told its fairly easy to have it 'break' and return it for a refund.

Re: Sigh

I got a Dot free with my Wileyfox phone.

I was going to sell it - but I got curious. I absolutely love it now. I dont have any home automation so I'm not using it to the full, but using it to play radio, answer questions etc is great.

I live on my own so all its going to pick up is swearing at things that are not behaving themselves. I know about the privacy concerns, but tbh thats pretty much a non-issue for me.

After Christmas I'll be scouring eBay for another 3 to put around the house.

American upstart seeks hotshot guinea pig for Concorde-a-like airliner

Aye.

Tu-144 does look rather like it was nailed together in a shed by someone who had heard Concorde being described but had never actually seen it

El Reg assesses crypto of UK banks: Who gets to wear the dunce cap?

Re: Dunce Cap tip

HSBC played a blinder this week. Sending me a text message with a link telling me they were going to close my business account.

Obviously I ignored it and then noticed it was legitimate next time I logged into my account - they MAY keep my account open of I update everything by next year, but tbh if they're going to pull idiot shit like that they won't get the chance to be so manganous.

Fake tech support 'scam' husband and wife banned FOR LIFE from computer repair world

Thats a plan...

Is there any way I can sign up for being banned from having to fix other peoples PCs?

Perhaps someone could start a blacklist that IT pros have their names put on to save them from friends, neighbours, relatives, friends of friends etc...

Legends of the scrawl: Ordnance Survey launches augmented reality tool for maps

Re: Repeat payments

Backcountry Navigator pulls the OS data from (I think) Bing maps and is excellent. Pay once for the full version and all the maps are free. I think the Free version is time limited.

Windows Fall Creators Update is here: What do you want first – bad news or good news?

Re: Inivitably!

If only it were that simple.

My laptop would update itself and then crawl until I relented and rebooted manually.

Very useful.

Vodafone customers moan about sluggish data abroad

Alan Sugar complaining about poor service and things not performing how one had expected them to... Who'd have thought....?

Months late, unaudited: ZX Spectrum reboot firm files accounts

Someone has beaten you to it.....

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/david-brown/mini-remastered/first-drives/mini-remastered-2017-review