Posts by Pascal Monett

Head of Israeli cyber spy unit exposed ... by his own privacy mistake

Re: "9% of them do so within three days"

I understand your point however, there is a caveat : when the police arrest them, or they get a ticket, they KNOW they've done wrong.

"9% of them do so within three days"

I take that as a clear indication that there is a non-negligible portion of users who clearly need a permit to demonstrate that they understand what they're working with, because right now, they don't.

Given that computers and the Internet are becoming central parts of our working and personal lives, what with government portals being the way forward, it seems that a Computing License should be just as mandatory as the driver's license is.

Somehow, I doubt we'll ever get there.

Liquid cooling specialist snags Microsoft datacenter wizard as advisor

Advising here, advising there

Pretty soon you're talking real salary.

Nice job if you can get it.

Google sues app devs, claims they're Play Store crypto scammers with 100k+ victims

"an injunction to prevent [them] from ever accessing Google services again"

Um, how exactly is that supposed to work ? It's not like you give your name and address when you use a browser.

They'll always be able to sign up for a new gmail account under a fake name, that's not controlled either.

So this injunction is just legal waffling. I don't see how it can be enforced, especially when the culprits aren't on US soil.

Tough luck, bosses, AI is coming for your job, too

What if ?

"what if organizations shared worker metrics data from AI management systems and that influenced future hiring decisions involving said workers"

In a world where installing a tattletale in your car to radio your insurance about how you drive, supposedly to lower your insurance bill, is becoming common practice, that is not a what-if scenario.

It is blindingly obvious that any AI management system will automatically and almost immediately be taken by upper management as criteria for advancement, not to mention continued employment.

Whether that will be a good thing or not, well, I guess that depends on what your current management feels like to you.

Academics probe Apple's privacy settings and get lost and confused

"it's written in legalese"

So, documentation written by lawyers.

If that is not proof that we're going to Hell in a handbasket, I don't know what is.

Techie saved the day and was then criticized for the fix

Sounds like management all right

Doesn't know the specifics of the hardware, doesn't care why the server was down or the aircon had failed to restart properly, but knows just enough about your department to blame you for everything.

Typical.

German state ditches Windows, Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice

Re: Wish them the very best

Except that, if it doesn't work like Outlook, they'll be screaming bloody murder.

Re: making the use of libre office mandatory

But, management needs those sexy Excel charts !

Re: Maybe just give Linux and open-source apps to those wiith nimble brains and aptitude

Um, you do realize we're talking government employees ?

If they had nimble minds and aptitude, they'd be working in the private sector.

As far as I can see, this is just another large boast by a German state, which will be followed by close "negociations" by Borkzilla and will end up in everyone adopting Windows 12 and Office 2025. For a price that the German citizen will find on his taxes so, who cares ?

Ethernet advances will end Nvidia's InfiniBand lead in AI networks

Pseudo-AI and the datacenter really are moving tech along

I just checked the specs on my motherboard : I still have PCIe 3 and DDR4. PCIe 6 is starting to get out. My home router is GB-capable, but not 100GB capable.

Not that it would matter, the Ethernet ports on my equipment are only GB-capable anyway.

I wonder if I will see all this bandwidth goodness on my home PC one day . . .

Microsoft thinks bundles are great and customers love them

Re: Will we be wooed by a refreshingly honest Microsoft?[1]

If ever the day comes when Borkzilla appears to me to actually be honest without any hidden agenda, I'll check myself into a clinic to search for signs of Alzheimers or an aneurysm.

Nearly 1M medical records feared stolen from City of Hope cancer centers

"Is there no cure"

Yes, there is.

Cut the lines to Russia and China, which will also cut off North Korea.

Problem solved.

Of course, I'm not expecting that to happen any time soon.

UK government sets sights on £8B tech procurement overhaul

So it's raining money again

Would it be possible that something has actually been planned this time ?

Nah, there will be overruns, Capita, Fujitsu and others will make like bandits, and the citizen will once again have to deal with unsatisfactory results.

Unless I'm wrong, which I hope, but as far as UK Government IT is concerned, I'm not expecting much else.

Could someone point to a project that was delivered on spec, on time and in budget ? Just curious.

Alibaba signs to explore one-hour rocket deliveries

NORAD is going to love this - not

If (big if there) this ever happens, NORAD will go nuts trying to differentiate delivery rockets from ICBMs.

That'll be fun -->

Meet clickjacking's slicker cousin, 'gesture jacking,' aka 'cross window forgery'

Press and hold

Give me one example of a legitimate web site asking the user to do such a thing.

I can't think of any.

So anytime I see those words, I'm shutting down my browser and launching a full AV analysis of my machine.

Thanks for the tip.

Lawsuit claims Meta hobbled Facebook Watch to help Netflix

Advertiser catfight !

Who cares who wins ?

No joke: FTC boss goes on the Daily Show and is told Apple tried to block her

"Businesses only obey the bottom line"

Except in China, where businesses obey the party line because otherwise the CEO disappears for a few months and comes back very humble indeed.

There is some good to be said about Chinese government . . .

Polish officials may face criminal charges in Pegasus spyware probe

It would be nice to think that this is Democracy in motion

Unfortunately, there's every chance that it is just the elimination of political rivals.

Do I sound cynical ?

Microsoft Teams decouples from Office 365 suite globally

"The Coalition for Fair Software [..] backed by Google and AWS"

This kind of shenanigans should be illegal.

It is morally dishonest to front a so-called non-profit group for the sole purpose of destroying your competitor.

Google will delete data collected from 'private' browsing

Re: what? where?

Of course. You don't think that Google (or any other massive conglomerate) is going to see a lawsuit in one country and think "oh, we'd better apply the consequences to the rest of the world as well before they wake up", now do you ?

If the rest of the world wants the same thing, they can sue in their own countries. One by one. Only if a dozen important countries (market-wise, obviously) start the same procedure at roughly the same time would any multi-billion dollar company trot out a statement where it will apply consequences globally, but that is only to diminish the number of lawsuits it'll have to pay for to get the same result.

It's always a question of return on investment. Multi-billionaire business basics 101 : investing in lawsuits works until the number of lawsuits outrun the amount of money that can be made in that way.

Apple's GoFetch silicon security fail was down to an obsession with speed

Am I glad I'm not that close to the metal

It is insane to realize just how complex things are when you're at machine code level. There are really intelligent people out there and it is humbling to realize that, as good as I may deem myself in my specialty, I don't hold a candle to the minds that can not only handle this level of programming, but also extract the proper conclusions and pull the whistle when things aren't going right.

My respects to those who can do this level of code analysis.

Japan's moon lander sparks joy by making it through a second lunar night

Yes, I support JAXA

Space is hard, and the best of intentions don't always cut mustard. It's a shame that the lander didn't land properly, but it's not called rocket science for nothing. There will be lessons learned here (contrary to business boardrooms).

US House of Reps tells staff: No Microsoft Copilot for you!

Not surprising

The only thing that is surprising is that US Government hasn't directed its IT to globally block access to that thing.

The EU Parliament blocked OneDrive from its Office 2010 version on grounds that it didn't want internal documents floating about on Borkzilla's US servers. I would be very surprised if this kind of thing was deemed acceptable by any responsible government anywhere.

I'm guessing banks will be at the forefront of demonstrating just what it is they consider reliable for the security of their customers. Maybe government institutions should align themselves more on that . . .

TSMC boss says one-trillion transistor GPU is possible by early 2030s

So, Intel will be first

Of course it will. Until it isn't.

Intel hasn't been first since a while. I wish Gelsinger all the luck, but Intel's build performance has been lackluster for more than a few years now.

Wait and see.

Why Microsoft's Copilot will only kinda run locally on AI PCs for now

Now wait a minute

You're telling me that, if I get a Windows AI PC, I will be using Borkzilla's cloudy thingy whether I want to or not. Okay, got it.

Now, tell me that I will not be paying for the privilege with a monthly subscription, because I don't think that Borkzilla is going to plan to serve up all that cloudy goodness I never asked for for nothing.

You break it, you ... run away and hope somebody else fixes it

The mainframe stopped

Back in those days, you didn't just restart and forget. In those days, there would have been a forensic investigation as to why and, given that it was a mainframe and not a sloppy Windows server, they would have found something.

I wonder what conclusion they came to.

Do not touch that computer. Not even while wearing gloves. It is a biohazard

Tires are black because they are dyed that way.

I did consulting a good while at Goodyear. They can make tires of practically any color if you ask. Obviously, white tires won't stay white very long, but I did see a set of blue tires at one point.

FTX crypto-crook Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years in prison

What ?

"It further recommends that the designated facility be as close to the San Francisco - Bay Area as possible"

Well I recommend that the facility be as close to the North Pole as possible.

I fail to see where the imprisonement takes place has anything to do with it, and if you specifically want him to benefit from California temperatures, I would personally see to it that he gets as close to Siberia as possible.

University of Washington's Workday woes leave research grants in limbo

Re: I don't think you'd need to be a specialist

Of course you don't. But us plebs are not in charge of such important projects.

That is reserved for the highly-paid managerial consultants who are paid way too much way too intelligent to bother with such mundane matters.

PostgreSQL pioneer's latest brainchild promises time travel to dodge ransomware

Re: Much as I'm a fan of PostgreSQL..

Agreed. Magic thinking like "time travel" is not the end solution.

These 17,000 unpatched Microsoft Exchange servers are a ticking time bomb

17000+

And that's only in Germany.

I shudder to think of how many more might exist around the world.

Execs in Japan busted for winning dev bids then outsourcing to North Koreans

Just one question

I thought NK was practically completely isolated from the rest of the world.

Yes, I know Bhina has "graciously" provided the worst leader of the world with Internet connectivity, and closes a blind eye to all the crime that NK is perpetrating thanks to that.

But how does anyone transfer money to a NK bank account ? Is this another case of funny money shenanigans ?

In any case, somebody should cut that line. Nothing good is coming of it.

AI hallucinates software packages and devs download them – even if potentially poisoned with malware

What is it going to take ?

It is apparently useless to rail against devs pushing external, unverified code to their production servers. This stupidity is now ingrained into force of habit, and everyone smiles in beatitude at the practice.

So, what is it going to take for companies to put the brakes on this ?

If pseudo-AI and miscreants work together to smash through that wall and make companies understand that you do not run unverified code on a production server, then I'm almost ready to welcome the mayhem that will ensue.

Good news: HMRC offers a Linux version of Basic PAYE Tools. Bad news: It broke

The UK is fabulous

For the 1%, that is.

A country that can't manage its healthcare properly, can't be arsed to manage its procurement or salaries at a county level, keeps spaffing billions to foreign companies for useless IT projects, can't offer a proper administrative portal that actually handles things for the plebs, has endless amounts of Prime Ministers who don't give a fuck and yet, it still manages to support a withering, useless monarchy and pretend that it still has an empire.

Way to go ?

Meta accused of snarfing people's Snapchat data via traffic decryption

Re: or whether they thought

They did not think.

Not for a second.

That is Zuckerberg's bread and butter. He loves people who don't think, because anyone who actually thinks about all he has done cannot possibly agree to continue to give him their life's details.

Intel throws chips on the table, Microsoft plays the Copilot card in wild bet on AI PCs

"sluggish sales"

What are they expecting ? Yes, there was a time when the next Intel CPU and Windows version was a must-have, because the result was obvious on screen. It was visibly faster, it performed better, everyone was happier.

It's been at least a decade (or two) since that was true. Today, the least-performing phablet/laptop will allow you to YouTube/Tik Tok/Facebook/Xitter to your heart's content. When that satisfies the need of 90% of the population, and COVID has forced almost everyone to purchase current equipment, it means that nobody actually needs a new computer for the next six/ten years at least.

So yeah, sales will be sluggish for the foreseeable future. Why can't you see that ?

Windows Format dialog waited decades for UI revamp that never came

Re: no one feels the need to redo it

Um, no. It's not need that counts. It's budget.

No one is getting the budget to redo it, because it works already and we have manager bonuses to think of.

Lenovo scores deal to build supercomputer at UK's Hartree Center

Well, there is hope that it will work . .

. . since the useless administrative busybodies will not be able to put their noses in to foul everything up.

This is a purely technical project, not subject to manager meddling. They'll get it working, then the managers can step in and foul things up.

BBC exterminates AI experiments used to promote Doctor Who

Great pics

I tried Leonardo after an article here on El Reg mentioned it. It's fun to fool around with, but apparently asking Leonardo to put Star Destroyers in the sky above Earth is still subject to some sort of copyright (because I fail to see how it can be a lack of reference material) - the spaceships are triangular, but Star Destroyers they ain't.

That said, I understand - and subscribe to - the notion that AI-generated blurbs on shows published by the BBC should never happen.

Unfortunately, I am also aware that this is reality, and in our current reality, there is nothing AI will not be applied to, whether successful or not.

Live with the times . . .

Intricate mission to de-ice a space telescope is go: Euclid's 'eye' is clear

"scientists now know exactly where the ice formed"

Good, but how did the ice get there in the first place ?

Granted, we're talking about a few nanometers of it. Probably means that somewhere, someone/something ever so slightly fouled up when it came time to prepare the satellite for space. A few too many molecules of water were left inside.

Now my question is : is that humidity gone, or will it redepose itself somewhere and, if so, will anywhere but the mirrors be a problem ?

Twitter's lawsuit against anti-hate-speech crusaders gets SLAPPed out of court

Sorry, but no.

You have no right to try and paint Musk as an advocate of balance.

He's a dick. Don't try to defend him.

One can only dream. This is reality, not Hollywood.

And Charlie Chaplin is long dead . . .

Fujitsu's 30-year-old UK customs system just keeps hanging on

"it might just see off an eighth"

The true measure of a failed UK Government IT project : how many PMs it manages to outlast.

Woz calls out US lawmakers for TikTok ban: 'I don’t like the hypocrisy'

I like the question

But aren't you sawing the branch you're sitting on ?

Tik Tok is not only foreign, it is China. Boooooo !

Google and Facebook are American. U-S-A ! U-S-A ! U-S-A !

Don't you see the difference ?

Boeing top brass stand down amid safety turbulence

Re: Over 25 years of rot

And Boeing has lost it.

It would seem existing entrenched corporate culture means they'll never get it back.

DBA made ten years of data disappear with one misplaced parameter

"Thankfully [..] there were backups"

With actual DBA's around, I should hope so. This was not the modern days of "move fast and break things" which, funnily enough, I don't they use too much as far as critical data is concerned.

At least, I hope so.

Labor watchdog wants SpaceX's gag clauses to disintegrate like its exploding rockets

I disagree. First, the Tribunal des Prud'Hommes is basically free. I know, I've been there on occasion and I've never had to pay a dime.

Second, as soon as the employee brings up the offending clause, the judges (the three of them) waive it away on basis of illegality. The employer has no argument to bring.

Case closed. The whole affair takes 30 minutes max, and the employer is made to to back off and maybe pay reperations if called for.

But of course, I'm talking about what happens in France. I agree that, in the Land of the Free with Justice for All, there will be lawyers involved and those guys up the costs by, lately, $300K/hour.

So yeah, expensive.

"Those would be big no-nos under US law"

Interesting.

In French law, any illegal clause in a business contract is automatically deemed invalid by any tribunal. As a consequence, SpaceX France would have no leg to stand on in front of the Tribunal des Prud'Hommes, where employee/employer litigation takes place.

You don't see endless articles in French newspapers outlining what is illegal in employment contracts.

Why is it necessary for the US Labor watchdog to remind US companies of the law ? Isn't the law supposed to be known ?

Or are there business lawyers who still think that, just because someone signed a contract, the clause that says that the employee's firstborn's soul belongs to the company is valid ?

Apple iPhone AI to be powered by Baidu in China, maybe

Re: Winnie The Pooh

Yeah but, did you see the size of that dictatorship ?