Posts by Tim99
2321 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Apr 2008
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Shooting org demands answers from Met Police over gun owner blab
Consumers go off PCs as global shipments continue their decline
Re: Consumers
@DropBear
The Bang is your friend: Link - DuckDuckGo
If you type in !g "your search" you will get an encrypted Google Search. It can be misleading (a good thing?). I typed in "VW Polo" directly into Google which came back with adverts for my country of residence - !g "VW Polo" in DuckDuckGo came back with a Google Search with fewer adverts which were for another country...
Apple’s premium TV plans – the hobby doomed to stay that way
Re: Apple TV poor in the UK
I had an AppleTV, and bought a smart TV 4 months ago. They are both substandard, but the smart TV interface is so appallingly bad that I find that I prefer to use the Apple when I can (It's a pity that their content is so poor though). It might be easier for Apple to improve their content than the various smart TV suppliers to produce decent interfaces.
Who really gives a toss if it's agile or not?
Re: The lot in charge might change, but sir humphrey still runs the country
But they do achieve something. We might think that the purpose of a publicly funded project is to produce a working system. Their real purpose is to funnel extremely large amounts of public money into the pockets of the anointed few. If the project is inexpensive and produces something that works, it has failed. A perfect project has an exorbitant cost, and does not produce a working solution - Failure is expected, otherwise you can't keep respeccing and redoing it over years at high daily rates.
Utility company picks NB-IoT, actively spurns rival techs' USPs
Re: Security?
Or is that a bad word?
Not a bad word, but it has first been translated from English into Mandarin, then Hindi and Tiếng Việt by people who are not native speakers of the previous language. Then converted back, via Chinglish for the poor sods who are tasked with creating this. The hardware engineers will have one translation, and the software developers will have another. The whole thing will be driven by a team who's original ideas were copied from a manglement PowerPoint presentation by a marketing drone.
Head of US military kit-testing slams F-35, says it's scarcely fit to fly
Re: de Havilland Mosquito?
@Peter Clarke 1
The Mosquito also shares a failing with the F35- tropical temperatures and humidity caused the glue holding it together to fail
Possibly a manufacturing fault, and not the glue: Wikipedia Link.
Re: There have been planes like this before.
@Ledswinger
De Havilland Mosquito - Successful fast fighter, bomber, ground-attack, anti-shipping, photo-reconnaissance, and carrier-borne variants: Wikipedia link
'Windows 10 destroyed our data!' Microsoft hauled into US court
"I'm just so glad I'm retired."
That's the prime requirement for being expected to support friends and family.
I'm excused - I tell them a truth, "I retired before Windows 10 came out, and I don't use it."
As I have posted before, I was horrified and started to plan retirement when I looked at beta versions of Vista.
'Clearance sale' shows Apple's iPad is over. It's done
@sitta_europea
I'm a Chartered Chemist, and started writing software in 1971. I now use an iPad more than a conventional computer.
If you actually threw the iPad in the bin, I hope the satisfaction that you got was worth the money that you lost - You could have asked Apple for a refund, or sold it...
Why do GUIs jump around like a demented terrier while starting up? Am I on my own?
Re: Microsoft time
I gave up using a browser to actually download stuff; and now copy "whatever" to the paste buffer and use curl -O http:/www.whatever... in a terminal window. I get a nice restful screen that shows how big the file is, how quickly it is downloading, how much has downloaded, and a reasonable estimation of how long the rest will take.
Tools like curl and wget are roughly 20 years old. Why can't the GUI/Web people get something as basic as this right?
Microsoft cloud TITSUP: Skype, Outlook, Xbox, OneDrive, Hotmail down
Microsoft kills Windows Vista on April 11: No security patches, no hot fixes, no support, nada
I look back at it fondly.
I can thank Vista. I used to write software for XP, amongst other OSs. I looked at Vista when it came out, was appalled, and started to look at at structuring my life for retirement. I had stopped paid work, and gone back to using mostly *NIX based systems, well before Windows 8...
Microsoft really wants those MongoDB devs to move to DocumentDB
Did your in-flight entertainment widget suck? It's Panasonic's fault, claims software biz
Re: How do you make hardware that runs certain software slower?
@DougS
True, what I meant was that unless favoured software was used, the hardware would add the interrupt. Maybe by setting an undocumented hardware switch? Although in this case, according to the plaintiff's statement: ...among other things, deliberately refusing to distribute source code for its open-source Linux-based operating system and intertwined “core” software, which controls access to the basic functions of Panasonic IFE hardware systems... Panasonic controls the OS as well as the hardware, hence my comment about Microsoft.
Re: How do you make hardware that runs certain software slower?
Easily. Microsoft's MSDE versions of SQL had programmed delays that got longer as more concurrent users were added. I believe that initially it was controlled by a registry key. If you control the hardware, someone else's software might generate additional wait states that favoured software did not see.
YouTube TV will be huge. Apple must respond
Re: UK based so not affecting us yet but....
I suspect that the major sports organizations will eventually realize that they have what everyone is scrambling for: "Content". Do they really need to tie up with a third party when they can stream it themselves? Would you pay a smallish weekly subscription directly to the League?
Java? Nah, I do JavaScript, man. Wise up, hipster, to the money
I'm old and past it, but...
... the only important thing is the data. Learn SQL.
These days, most of the rest is just a presentation to a web client. I suspect that the trend of using 93 different untyped key-value storage sets to hold "data" that is manipulated with the web framework du jour will do exactly what the "designer" intended - A guarantee of billable time.
As I started with FORTRAN, my mind is probably broken anyway, so please feel free to ignore this. Mine's the one with the Codd & Date notes in the pocket >>======>
Nokia’s big comeback: Watches, bathroom scales, a 3310 PR gimmick, Snake, erm...
Ah, the Raspberry Pi 3. So much love. So much power ... So turn it into a Windows thin client
Re: Why?
For a similar reason to Citrix packaging the Pi as a virtual desktop in a nice box (Citrix Link)?
Dying for Windows 10 Creators Update? But wait, there's more!
Re: ugh
@Planty
You're right. I don't own a Chrome device.
Last year I did a preliminary investigation of ChromeOS for a seniors community centre where I volunteer. We were looking for a cheap/simple system to complement (or replace) the 6 PCs that we had upgraded to Windows 10 (not a happy experience). I loaded up ChromeOS in a Parallels VM on my Mac, and Little Snitch showed a hell of a lot more network traffic than I had expected compared to a VM running Debian - I appreciate that it was not a vanilla ChromeOS on a standard device; but it was, I thought, interesting.
I did eventually track down a Chromebit Stick which also seemed to be busy on the network. Their network has an ADSL2+ connection to the Internet which had a variable connection speed - After resetting the connection we could get ~14Mbps but it could drop to ~1Mbps in a day or so (ISP contention/IPv4 shared pool problems?). So as a result of this, and after considering the cost of us having to purchase HDMI monitors to replace our old ones, we thought that it was not viable.
The Chromebit was passed on to a non-technical fellow retiree friend who has a VDSL connection. He was doing most of his computing using Google stuff on a clapped-out Windows machine. He now seems happy enough and, as I don't have to fix the mess that he could get into with Windows, that is OK.
As I have wrestled with Microsoft since their PC/MS-DOS systems in 1981, including writing scientific, business and commercial software for every OS from them up to Windows 7, I am certainly not a fan of theirs either...
Microsoft makes cheeky bid for MongoDB devs on Azure security grounds
Re: Meh
Have an up vote for the webscale reference. For anybody who has not seen it (NSFW): YouTube Link
HPE blames solid state drive failure for outages at Australian Tax Office
Google claims ‘massive’ Stagefright Android bug had 'sod all effect'
If you need an in-mem analytics cruncher – and, hey, who doesn't? – Microsoft Graph Engine is now open source
Munich may dump Linux for Windows
Re: The company I work for went through this
@John H Woods
For a long time now, I have been convinced that a corporate that has managed to have Windows locked down enough to be safe, has reinvented the 3270 or VT220 terminal. Many of the users that I saw did not know basic skills like drag and drop, or copy and paste - A simple browser front end would be OK for much of their work tasks.
Have a beer and an upvote >>=============>
ISIS videos, adtech, and the 'smartest guys in the room' (Google)
Samsung's Chromebook Pro: Overpriced vanilla PC with a stylus. 'Wow'
Last Concorde completes last journey, at maybe Mach 0.02
We were lucky
I won second prize in a competition run by BA in 1987. The prize was a return flight for myself and wife on Concorde to Miami. The aircraft stopped and refueled at Washington, when it took off again - The acceleration was truly impressive - Apparently it was the fastest commercial leg that it flew. The prize included 12 nights at a luxury hotel on Miami Beach. On our first morning (lounging by the pool) Concorde flew very low just past the hotel, and the noise was almost deafening; so I can understand why the locals might have objected.
The aircraft and the service were unlike anything I have experienced. I feel really fortunate.
RAF pilot sent jet into 4,000ft plummet by playing with camera, court martial hears
Police drones, robo surgeons and chatbot civil servants. What could go wrong?
Really?
What are we going to do with all of these people? As automation increases, many private sector jobs will disappear too. You can't have everyone running custom skinny mochas micro businesses.
During the 1970s-1980s "traditional men's skilled jobs" like turners and fitters were reduced by the introduction of CNC equipment. We were told that we would all have a lot more leisure, and many older men were "retired early". We thought that the changes meant a 2-3 day working week with lots of nice leisure time, but they actually meant "unemployment". We now have societies that have significant levels of un(der)employment, and a relatively small number of skilled people.
I was involved, in a minor way, with some relevant bits of the State. It seems to me that we should not expect governments to help (unless they are forced) - They know that with a majority of the population spending long hours at work and commuting, there is less possibility of trouble from them. The unemployed can be contained by poor access to transport, an oppressive "benefits" scheme, and distracted by crap TV.
So what are they going to do when 40% are out of productive work by 2025 (western intelligence projections)?
Boeing's 747 to fly off the production line for the foreseeable future
Re: even if its role has changed to a cargo-hauler.
@Dazed and Confused
A few years ago on the Australia run, I found that the upper deck business class had a bar. From that time on that's why I always tried to book upstairs. The newer marks just don't quite cut it, even though the beds may be better.
Microsoft's Cloud UI brings Windows full circle
"Users are so familiar with overlapping windows"
Not around here. Many older newbies and youngsters run a single "Window 10". If you take a sized window and move it, it usually goes into full screen mode (where it stays). Two windows to drag-and-drop files between them is magic, even copy-and-paste is unusual. Right-click is an arcane procedure.
If we gave these users a single modal screen, they probably would not complain...
Naughty sysadmins use dark magic to fix PCs for clueless users
Re: No quite wizadry but.../ Percussive Maintenance
@TheNeonSpirit
When our IBM XT PCs played up, the standard first-line support "fix" was to turn them off (I miss the "Big Red Switch") lift them about 2cm off the desk, make sure they were level and then allow them to drop. It often worked, the theory was that it would reseat the chips and cards.
It worked on IBM ATs too, but often didn't work on "lesser" machines. We speculated that they did not have the necessary gravitas.
Britain collects new naval tanker a mere 18 months late
Smart bombs, smart bullets – now guided smart artillery shells, thanks to DARPA dosh
Stanford boffins find 'correlation between caffeine consumption and longevity'
Google nukes ad-blocker AdNauseam, sweeps remains out of Chrome Web Store
Re: No free ride
@Tannin
I volunteer to keep the equipment running at a retiree community centre with about 1500 members. What some users leave behind is sometimes private or "interesting". The full code deletes stray stuff from Downloads, the Desktop, etc, and gives them a message at logon. It takes about 3 seconds to run.
Yes you could use a BAT/CMD file, but in this case you may not know the names of subfolders. I have never been able to reliably delete unknown subfolders from a folder that you want to keep when using wildcards, particularly when you don't know what their contents permissions are. So the easiest thing for me was to use filesystem objects with VBS.
No free ride
I have not understood why Google is sometimes excused behaviour that many commentards would think was unacceptable if carried out by Sony, Microsoft, Apple etc. Unless you pay them money you are not a Google "customer", you are just their harvest. I suspect that if you do pay them money you are probably just a more valuable crop, but they do seem to filter out the obvious spam that a freetard using their products normally sees. A tip for Windows users of Chrome - Delete the local Google Appdata folder to get rid of crap and don't log in to your Google Acc.
' A simple vbs script that you can run at logon
Dim delFolderPath(1)' The usual warnings apply if you run some VBS file you copied from the Internet!delFolderPath(0)="C\:SomeOtherFolderThatYouWantGone"
delFolderPath(1)="C:\Users\Your_Account\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome"
Dim fso
Dim objFolder
Dim objFile
Dim objSubfolder
For Each x In delFolderPath
'Set objects & error catching
On Error Resume Next
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objFolder = fso.GetFolder(x)
'DELETE files in path unless they are ReadOnly, or set to True for All
For Each objFile In objFolder.files
objFile.Delete False
Next
'DELETE all subfolders in delFolder Path even if they are ReadOnly
For Each objSubfolder In objFolder.Subfolders
objSubfolder.Delete True
Next
Next
Set objSubfolder = Nothing
Set objFile = Nothing
Set objFolder = Nothing
Set fso = Nothing
Fedora 25: You've got that Wayland feelin', oh, that Wayland feelin'
Vinyl and streaming sales offset CD decline in UK music sales
Original Sound?
Back in the day, swimbo and I were Tiefenbrun/Vereker "flat earthers" with a Linn LP12/Naim 250 based system with most of the fruit. Swimbo kept my more rabid audio fantasies on a fairly tight leash. Tiefenbrun said "The best route to quality music at home is a live stereo FM broadcast. After listening to a Naim tuner we realized that Tiefenbrun was probably right and bought it.
As for the vinyl/CD thing: we hated the first CDs and players - I described them as 'having all of the notes, but not much of the music". We later bought a Naim CD player which was OK. The Linn/Naim ideal was based upon rhythm, pace, "musicality" and the ability to play transients rather than an obsession with a flat frequency response.
Interestingly I had a serious RTA which resulted in brain damage. That meant that I had difficulties in playing the equipment and much of the "music" was gone, even though my hearing was apparently unaffected - So it seems that brain processing has a significant effect on how music is perceived, perhaps even more so than frequency imperfections and companding effects.
We sold the equipment to a nice doctor who still has it, and these days my listening is usually to digital media through a TV connected to a small pair of active B&O speakers which I find to be not too tiring to listen to. What I don't fully understand is why music that was originally on LP, or taped, when I transferred to digital files still often sounds better than a file from a CD. Generally neither of us seem to notice the odd hiss or pop.
Support chap's Sonic Screwdriver fixes PC as user fumes in disbelief
Re: Overheard conversation about a new server
@JulieM
A long time ago, when a 25-50MB rack mountable Winchester disk had a "voice coil" when I was running routine data jobs, I didn't need to look at the screen, the gentle melody of read/writes told me that everything was good. I did have a couple of spectacularly loud hard disk crashes which gouged the oxide off the platter though...
It's round and wobbles, but madam, it's a mouse pad, not a floppy disk
Not Snopes
I looked after the IT needs of 450 scientists, admin and clerical staff in the 1980s.
I have seen an 8" floppy cut with scissors because it would not fit in the 5.25" drive; a 3.5" disk hammered into a 5.25'' drive; a 5.25" disk folded to try and fit it into a 3.5" drive; a letter with an enclosed copy of a backup disk, which we had requested from a remote site (yes it was a photocopy); and, my personal favourite, a 5.25" disk that was the only electronic copy of a department's year-end financial data, stapled (twice) to the covering letter, explaining why they were late submitting it.
Those are some of the reasons why I now look like this >>============>
Meg Whitman: HPE software's new owner? Kill a product? Never!
Re: WebOS, how I morn for thee...
WebOS: "It's alive, it's alive.": Not bad TVs, if you like that sort of thing...
Confirmation of who constitutes average whisky consumer helps resolve dispute
Simpler choices
After 50 years of drinking whisk(e)y, I think I have just about got it sorted, but I might be wrong: For a special occasion( my birthday?); or Smith's (to share with friends); and a good everyday blend found in many pubs.
The Internet Society is unhappy about security – pretty much all of it
Re: There was never an era where all hats were white
"Power corrupts - absolute power corrupts absolutely". Not quite. The relevant section of Lord Acton's letter; which was about the doctrine of papal infallibility in the First Vatican Council was, perhaps, even more damning:-
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it... ...and the end learns to justify the means."
