Posts by Pascal Monett 19006 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Apr 2007
So you're going to mount a terrorist assault on Salesforce HQ ?
Because Democracy seems to not be your way of thinking, and anyone who even pretends to find an excuse for this shameful demonstration of just how much the GOP pisses on the Constitution is just another terrorist.
"This suggests that AI models may be more sensitive to image quality issues than human beings. "
No kidding. A computer that just might be totally incapable of not taking an image input otherwise than pixel by pixel. What a surprise when said pixels have an inordinate amount of impact on the algorithm's interpretation.
Computers do not see. They take the data they are given. Give them flawed data and the result will be wrong.
If there are so many parameters to take into account to do retina diagnostics, then maybe the tool isn't fit for the job.
I don't think so. The pandemic has just given them a booster shot.
Then again, that depends on the definition of a PC. I'm old school ; to me, a PC is a large box - not too noisy - connected to two very large screens, with a keyboard and wireless mouse on a desk, along with a comfortable chair to sit in and enjoy the power. A PC is the most powerful computer there is, because it has the best heat evacuation ability, so its components can be ramped up.
Yet, the article cites Lenovo. AFAIK, Lenovo makes laptops, not PCs. Okay, the laptop is the modern computer, so in that respect, yes, PCs are here to stay - but nobody has ever said the contrary. Laptops are indeed here to stay, and some models desperately try to replicate the power of an actual PC.
Wouldn't want one of those on my lap, though.
So yes, laptops are the future of computing for Joe Public. True PCs, however, will remain the future of those who need the power that a tower can provide and do not need the mobility that a laptop ensures.
And if you need more than two screens, there is no laptop that can suit you.
I gather that now the USA officially considers Taiwan to be independant.
8 days before changing President.
Should that not have been the kind of thing left to Biden to consider ?
I approve of the fact that Taiwan is officially considered a country by the USA. I despise the pussy-footing around that issue by most governments today, including my own French government which can't even be arsed to have an actual Embassy in Taipei.
But that does not excuse the fact that such a major shift in diplomatic relations should not be made 8 days before the President is replaced.
Trumpt and his administration are decidedly intent on causing as much mayhem as they possibly can.
Shameful.
How about imagining that the President of "the most powerful country in the world" doesn't need to use Twitter to contact his countrymen ?
He's got a fucking Speaker. He's got a room dedicated to recieving journalists. He can have a news conference whenever the fuck he wants, and the journos will be chafing at the bit to get the news out.
Neither Twitter nor Amazon are a condition of Democracy.
Are you joking ? Have you not seen all the shows about police investigations ? There really are a lot of them, and most of them emphasize that a crime scene is not to be disturbed.
She was right to call the police. The police were undoubtedly relieved that there wasn't some grim murder to investigate. I'm sure it was just like that time my chimney caught fire and I had to call the fire department. They came, saw what was burning, axed it off the chimney frame and took it outside. When I apologised for the nuisance, the chief answered "Not a problem sir. We very much prefer not to have to drag out dead bodies."
Yeah but, it's a tradition in France. We have riots every year, somewhere. Just like we have fireworks every July 14th.
What we do not have is a bunch of idiots storming Le Parlement with the idea that they can change the outcome of a vote.
What we do not have either is a voting system so obsolete that it takes weeks to get results.
We have our presidential election results at 20h00 on election day. I wonder why "the most powerful country in the world" is incapable of replicating that.
Supporting a politician is one thing, actively promoting violence and the refusal of the democratic process is another thing entirely.
I sincerely hope that every single person who is implicated in the shameful attempt at a "coup" will be apprehended and pay for their crime.
And I'm not just talking about the rioters - the politicians who endorse them are fair game in my view.
I don't see that to be a problem. If you're connecting to your phone, you're already mobile. It should hardly be an issue to have a USB cable plugged in to your shirt pocket (pants may be a bit far for that - for those of us who are still wearing them).
I do see a problem in having a phone capable of rendering 5 screens at 1080p resolution. And if you're telling me that it's the glasses that are rendering them, I'm going to ask you what universe you come from and how did you smuggle your alien tech in ? Also, do you have gravity modulators, by any chance ?
So, we now have definite potential for industry in space. And there's nothing like industry to lower costs and increase accessibility.
If only we could find a more ecological way to get us there.
Could someone please invent anti-gravity modulators ? That would do nicely.
I give trainings. Excel trainings, mostly.
Since March of last year, those trainings have been virtual.
On the one hand, it's cool. I have a fiber link, so I can work from home. No traffic, no delays, and I have a kitchen that is stocked with everything I like. What could possibly be better, you ask ?
Interaction. I miss being able to see who is struggling to understand. I miss being able to go over to a student's screen and check on how they are managing, what problem they have. I spend the whole day talking to a screen - and it's worse when nobody answers my questions. I don't know if they misunderstood me, don't know the answer, or can't be bothered to respond. When I am standing in front of them, they at least pretend to be thinking about the problem.
There have been good groups. There have been people with questions, interrogating me on the finer points, requesting clarification. It is such a relief to have people reacting to what I say.
But when I have spent a day talking to the void without any reaction whatsoever, it is very frustrating and infuriating and I hate the job.
Thank God I don't only do trainings. I think I'd be going mad.
installed mandated by ignorant manager.
The manager certainly didn't install it himself.
That said, I really would like to see that guy face-to-face to ask him what the ever-loving frak he was thinking of putting sprinklers in a room full of pricey electrical equipment.
He should have a fireplace installed under his bed.
We all know the old saying : give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day, set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Agreed. Windows has done a fine job of formatting user's expectations.
We all know how to copy/paste, we know that Help is one F1 key away, etc.
Before that, we had to learn the decisions made for each and every bit of software we used. Help could by anywhere from a function key, to a CTRL-combo, and you had to remember those particulars for everything.
Thank goodness there weren't as many applications available back in the day.
No, Windows has the merit of having brought a certain uniformity to the functions we require in every application we use, and that is a Good Thing (TM).
However, there is indeed a need for step further, and to make accessibility an integral part of the things we all know where to find and how to use.
Because being blind is shitty enough. If you have to fight your way into every software you need, it must be sheer frustration and utterly exhausting.
But Boeing is already paying employees at the FAA.
That is the principle reason why this whole fiasco happened. Boeing has people inside the FAA that are paid by Boeing to "streamline" the certification process.
It got streamlined into the ground.
Get those people out - they have clearly failed in their duty to the public. Get Boeing out of the FAA - it never should have gotten in in the first place.
Have the FAA hire new people and train them - at its own expense - and make sure they are trained to never trust Boeing again.
Remember : the FAA has its share of guilt in this as well. No reason to let them off the hook.
Um, buddy, I don't know if you've been following current events, but that apple is not only rotten, it is decomposing while you watch.
The United States is officially a shithole country. One can only hope that Biden + Harris manages to turn that around but, even if, there's a whole lot of rot to cut away.
Globally I have to agree with you, but in this case I can only say : about fucking time.
This assclown should have been shut down three years ago.
A President of the so-called Most Powerful Country In The World should not be a continuous spewer of lies or a supporter of Nazis.
Facebook & Twitter could have shown the way, instead they just trail the news. Shutting down his account a week before he gets booted from the White House ?
Way, way too late.
Of failure.
At this point I have to ask : how is it that 123-Reg still has customers ?
Is there such a dearth of hosting companies in the UK, or are the others equally as shitty ?
Might want to look abroad for hosting solutions. I'm sure you can find competent ones, and I'm sure most of them will handle the transition for you, including managing the domain name.
Indeed they are, but as you stated, they are nobodies, so no impact.
Also, you're talking about web shops. These are often set up by people who have an idea, think they can program, but have no notion of security. For those types, security is the annoying stuff you have to get rid of in order to work.
As a consultant in Luxembourg for the past 25 years, I can tell you that I have worked in banks, insurance companies and government organizations and I can assure you, the network security in these places is impressive. There are institutions where I do not have the right to bring my laptop.
All of these have an IT department which is staffed with people who know their stuff. Many have an Information Security Officer, and I can tell you : you do as he says.
Yes, given the nature of my skills, when I do finally get to a workstation with a working login, I do have access to the server, and to many, many databases. But if I so much as try going around and poking places I'm not supposed to do, I can kiss that customer good-bye as I will be caught out, and then thrown out.
Not every company is staffed by cowboys.
"If there are 4.4 million claimants, each entitled to several hundred pounds, under the current damages-based regime the maximum share is 50 per cent. "
What is this "maximum share" nonsense ? If it a class action, then it is the entire class that is concerned. What is the justification for one (small) group getting 50% ?
How is that justice ?
It is clear the Class Action lawsuits have just become excuses for making money for people who are in no way concerned by the issue they raise.
And private companies funding government procedures ? They should be thanked for their generous donation and told to fuck off.
The world is going mad, I tell you. Mad.
Get off my lawn.
Morals ?
I'm sorry, they sold their company to FaceBook. The company that is widely known for pilfering personal data under every possible circumstance, then come meekly promising change when caught out, only to change into something worse.
If they'd had morals, they would have sold to someone else.
But hey, $2bn, I get it. That buys you a lot of morals, apparently.
No wonder they're saying that 60 bars is a "low-pressure" storage vessel.
I wouldn't want to drive around with a tank pressurized to 700 bars. I'd feel nervous about having a bomb lurking just a meter away from me.
60 bars doesn't make me feel all that much safer though.
I think I'd prefer electric.
I have been an avid player ever since I got the hang of it, and I have incited not a few people to play it as well.
I play the Java version, obviously, and when MC Earth came out, I was interested in seeing what it was about.
After viewing a few YouTube videos about how it worked and showing the gameplay, I dropped all interest in it. Playing on the phone is already something I loath, and nothing in it gave my any real incentive to change my views.
I know that there are people who find it a blast, so I feel sorry for them, but I won't miss it.
That said, I doubt Borkzilla will delete the code. Maybe, when this pandemic is finally over, it will be revived and people can play it again.
I am so relieved that the Council decided not to replace the recently-installed ERP.
I am a bit less impressed that such a choice was even on the cards.
It's recently installed ? Then you use it until it gets old. It's an ERP. Those things are suppoed to cost a lot and be configured to your needs. If that is not the case, it's not the ERP's fault, it's yours for not having got it configured right.
So configure it right and then use it until it runs into the ground.
There really shouldn't be any other choice.
Cash is very different from cryptocoins. Cash is real. It's right there in your hands, and there are tools to check if it's legit.
With virtual money, I think it is a good idea to have more checks and controls. It ensures that the market is going to stay safe.
But I would like somebody to explain to me the notion of "stablecoin". I get BitCoin - you churn some software long enough and you get a coin, which you can then use or sell for it's current market value which is established by supply and demand. But how can you "add" virtual coins to state money without either pushing the system out of whack or being guilty of counterfeiting ?
Fine. Demonstrate it then.
From Uber to IBM to Google, I have the feeling that I have not stopped reading about sexual harassment cases in major US multinationals since about ten years.
So please, demonstrate that I am wrong.
That would actually be a relief.
I guess he was influenced by western moguls and thought he could get away with doing whatever he wanted.
He forgot that he lives in a totalitarian state under a rather inhuman philosophy (Ouighurs, anyone ?).
So he mouthed off and got slapped down. Methinks he should have known better.
On the other hand, maybe he was genuinely trying to use his position to improve his country and its government. In which case he sacrificed himself for the greater good, but to little effect.
So, either his ego made him think he was above the fray, or his lack of vision made him make a dreadful mistake.
In any case, the message is clear : you do not criticize the Chinese Government when you live in China.
Theoretically it's simple : your freedom stops where mine starts.
The problem is that you need to be intelligent enough to realize that, and that's why we need laws : to educate the morons who are incapable of thinking of anyone but themselves.
It's not a perfect system, I know.
First of all, it was a lot more than 20 thousand.
Second, you're right, but that is the state of technology today. People should stop buying these gadgets that reveal their entire lives for basically no advantage. Why do you need a watch that records your GPS coordinates when you run ? Can't you just run ?
How can you not only have missing pieces, but left over pieces that you did not need ?
That is an unbelievable failure of Quality Control. Or is QC a last-millennium thing, only remembered by boomers ?
I don't care that the kit was made in China, if they send pieces you don't need and forget pieces you do, they're wasting money. Surely even a Chinese capitalist can see that.
Is a Good Thing (TM).
It is once again time to educate people on this abysmally inefficient technology.
It's Global Warming, people. We don't need to waste yet more energy than we already abuse.
No it has not. The article specifically states that the policy was changed when Brexit was declared and, if you had been reading El Reg two years ago, you should remember the amount of facepalming that was going on in these forums at the news.
I personally find this move despicable. It has no reason to exist and appears to be purely motivated by spite - which is not something I approve of.
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