Posts by Charlie Clark

SQLite maximum database size increased to 281TB – but will anyone need one that big?

Yes, like FreeBSD, MacOS supports hardware-independent volumes. AFAIK it's not ZFS but Apple's take on it.

Lots of video-editing is done on Macs so support for large disks has always been pretty good.

Sure, SQLite's domain is extremely restrictive. It's very good at what it does, but also very limited in what it does. In practice its speed means that it can and is used in situations where it probably isn't the best choice.

Pass that Brit guy with the right-hand drive: UK looking into legalising automated lane-keeping systems by 2021

Modelling consistently shows that staying in land and reducing maximum speeds reduces congestion and accidents while boosting average speeds.

Of course, this flies against how many of us experience the situation, especially with an almost innate desire to get ahead of anything in front of us. And, an obstacle once passed is considered permanently removed. I'd argue that this is good example of cognitive bias and how difficult it can be to overcome. This is especially true when it comes to roadworks where I believe a majority of motorway RTAs occur.

Personally, I'd start by getting manufacturers to reduce maximum vehicle speeds: if you know your car can't do more than whatever the speed limit is, you won't try it. Though this shouldn't necessarily be at the expense of acceleration. Then focussing on safe distances between vehicles, something which we routinely all undershoot, not least when some thwaite slips in in front of us.

But it's a minefield. Not quite as bad as telling yanks that gun ownership should be restricted, but almost! ;-)

Ed Snowden has raked in $1m+ from speeches – and Uncle Sam wants its cut, specifically, absolutely all of it

Re: Going Postal

Trump wins if he can stoke more partisanship. He gets accused of things he never actually does, and which his supporters don't care about anyway, and draws attention away from something else, which might be more damaging, such as a budget extension.

Though an equally disturbing walking waxwork, Pelosi has proved about his most able opponent so far, fighting slur with slur.

Re: Barry and Clinton

Or it's factually incorrect and the orange gibbon is responsible for the attacks on Libya and Syria?

Nice bit of whataboutery!

When it comes to comparing the treatment of Snowden under Obama, you might want to consider the repeated attempts by Trump administration to go after White House employees, with their comparatively minor leaks about his many indiscretions. Whistleblowers don't have a history of good treatment in the US, or in many other countries for that matter. And, whether what Snowden did was morally right and in the public interest, doesn't count in a court of law (justice is famously blind).

If Trump is really considering pardoning Snowden, it would only because there something in it for him personally.

Re: Treason

Actually, false accusations can land you in court for charges of defamation. Even in the US, freedom of speech does not cover everything.

Linux kernel maintainers tear Paragon a new one after firm submits read-write NTFS driver in 27,000 lines of code

Re: Bit harsh

There are quite a few things to consider when you take on the maintainership of the code, which is basically what is happening and, before it gets to a code review you have to be sure that the legal aspects are covered: one of the reasons why there are so few NTFS drivers is because Microsoft has kept the file system essentially private.

Then there is is the code review. File systems are not new and there might, by now, be a template or at least accepted best practice for their drivers. It's happened before that code dumps were received with "thanks, but no thanks" because there was more work involved in understanding the code than writing it from scratch.

From per-processor licensing to... per-follower? Oracle said to be in talks to buy TikTok’s US operations

Or part of a complicated financial engineering package that see TikTok parked at Oracle ready to be sold on or back when the politics are less volatile.

If TikTok US is sold, then a TikTok worldwide IPO, which would make by far the most money for investors, is unlikely.

He can't: this is electioneering.

Farewell to notches and hole-punches? ZTE expected to announce mobe with under-display camera next month

Smudge proof?

Smudging a camera is the biggest problem and it will only get worse if you cannot see where the camera is.

Bevelless phones are more of a "because we can" feature rather than a response to market demand.

Samsung slows smartphone upgrade treadmill with promise to support three Android generations on Galaxies

Brand management

Having finally gotten on top of the monthly security updates, this isn't really a hard decision for Samsung. It boosts the image which provides justfication for the premium prices: notice which models are covered. Also, since Google did the work on Project Treble, it's not that hard to do.

IBM takes Power10 processors down to 7nm with Samsung, due to ship by end of 2021

Re: POWER 10

Somehow the term "AI" loses its mystery if all it comes down to is matrix maths

Well, that's the pattern recognition part that is essential for image and audio processing that are now about as good as human, pattern-based versions. Okay humans have some hard-wired optimisations, but still, this is where the focus for replacing or assisting meatware in business is going to be.

NHS tests COVID-19 contact-tracing app that may actually work properly – EU neighbors lent a helping hand

Re: How will they know it's a false alarm?

What's the price tag on your life, mine, or that of any other person?

I'm not putting a price tag on anyone's life, I was merely stating that isolation is not just "inconvenient" but also has costs. Taking people out of work can also reduce their life expectancy: the West is lucky, but other countries can already count the dead caused by lockdowns and the loss of income.

But there have been other associated costs, such as the number of people not going for scans or checkups or whose operations were deferred. This will lead, inevitably, lead to higher mortality rates.

Re: "Talk of a second wave is nonsense"

Local outbreaks, entirely to be expected. Leicester's clothing factories are a series of accidents waiting to happen. And, have you seen the STD numbers for Aberdeen?

Of course, local outbreaks can spread to become regional and then national, but current trends indicate better testing, better treatment and, thankfully, much lower mortality.

To be clear: Covid-19 should be taken seriously, but personally I'd argue no more seriously than influenza (I have a jab every year). But, as with many such events, the 24 news cycle focuses on particular ideas and terms: "second wave"; "asymptomatic infection", etc. which quickly become dissociated from any scientific definition they may have had. cf. "global pandemic". It's sad, but the news cycle actually lives off predicting that things will get worse.

Over the next few weeks we will get data from the return to schools in many countries and the effectiveness of targeted testing: at least in Germany, a signficant number of test results are coming from people returning from places with current outbreaks.

Re: "Talk of a second wave is nonsense"

It's quite simple: the idea of a second wave suggests it's been and gone. But the fact that it's endemic means it's not gone away and will continue to flare up. This requires different tactics.

Re: How will they know it's a false alarm?

One of the issues is asymptomatic carriers.

Which is true of nearly all viral infections. But use it enough and it sounds more sinister.

Re: How will they know it's a false alarm?

Strange, that in countries that have the apps in use, people have stopped touting them. Couldn't have anything to do with the lack of efficacy, could it?

Isolation isn't just inconvenient it's also potentially expensive.

Talk of a second wave is nonsense and continuing to do so is likely to fuel "covid fatigue". The virus is now effectively endemic so outbreaks are inevitable as the recent outbreak in New Zealnd demonstrates. The focus has shifted to dealing with and containing those and improving treatments for those that need them. Oh, and a hugh sigh of relief from all concerned that mortality rate is as low as it is.

Money talks as Chinese chip foundries lure TSMC staff with massive salaries to fix the Middle Kingdom's tech gap

Re: More blowback from Trump's epic mishandling of foreign affairs

Russia's main aim is to weaken US foreign policy in its sphere of influence or the "near abroad" as it's officialy known, which is mainly the former members of the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, the Warsaw Pact. It's also keen on anything which reduces shale oil and gas production, which pushes international prices below Russian costs.

While Russia is involved in all manner of dirty tricks campaigns, including of course assasination. Indeed the scale of these is routinely underrated – these are usually related to particular interests of the members of the ruling kleptocracy – its overall threat is often overstated. If Russia seriously thought it could hold Ukraine, it would have invaded long ago. As it stands, it's struggling to prop up Crimea and some of its own regions are getting restless because there is not enough money to go around.

Bratty Uber throws tantrum, threatens to cut off California unless judge does what it says in driver labor rights row

Re: I’ll scweam and scweam and scweam until I’m sick!!

Just back from the local farmers market so, of course, I agree with you. The problem in Germany, at least, is that policy and industry have focussed on producing to price to the detriment of everything else: animal welfare, environment (the cost to remove nitrates from ground water is going to be astronomical), employees. But this is also means that many families have become dependent on this system.

FWIW I can recommend the "Hintergrund" report on DLF on the meat processing industry and how it's affecting the whole of Europe. It's in German so probably only of interest to those of us who live here, but it is a real, er, ear-opener.

Re: I am conflicted on this

Awarding the licences doesn't mean you can't limit the number of vehicles in particular areas and it's the awarding of the licences that skews the market.

Re: I’ll scweam and scweam and scweam until I’m sick!!

Oh yes, that German labour policy has allowed companies to circumventing legislation is shameful. It was the unwillingness of the CDU to apply the Entsendegesetz to meat processing that directly led to the minimum wage and the subsequent race to the bottom via imported sub-contractors: branch and regional based collective bargaining arguably provided better solutions for both employees and employers. (And animals and customers).

At some point we're also going to have to pay for the massive shortfall in benefits provision through the "mini-job" scheme.

Re: I am conflicted on this

I have asked them how they liked working for Uber

The thing is: Uber keeps on saying the drivers don't work for Uber. Uber's business model is to use casual labour to undercut the market. Your anecdotal evidence says a lot about the area you live in and might point to the kind of market Uber is ostensibly addressing – underserved areas where it makes no financial sense to offer a regular taxi service. In such cases Uber is creating new business and not taking it away existing business. But this is only a tiny part of the market.

The problem with taxis in America is restrictive practice: taxi licences are artificially restricted to the benefit of incumbents and to the detriment of customers and new drivers. But this can be solved fairly easily by adjusting the regulations.

Re: Its already shut down

They're currently make more money from food deliveries than from rides.

Another doomed business model as it is based on the restaurants not charging more for the food but paying delivery costs.

Re: I’ll scweam and scweam and scweam until I’m sick!!

They're headquartered here in Düsseldorf but after a burst of adverts in the spring it's gone reasonably quiet: demand fell off the cliff with the epidemic as all the trade fair and airline traffic disappeared. Not that it was hard to order a taxi with 99999 and 33333 being standard numbers since before I moved here.

But I believe the same people that use the equally financially dubious electro-scooters probably also have Uber on their phone: it's a party trick for going home as to who can order a car the fastest. Even if it can't do simple things like split billing. :-/

Intel talks up its 10nm Tiger Lake laptop system-on-chips as though everything is going according to plan

Re: ML also ran?

Sorry, I know about the ML language but preferred the abbreviation for machine learning over the less specific (and less relevant) "AI".

ML also ran?

While the architecture improvements do sound good: if you can drop the voltage you get more done with the same power draw, it's difficult to see the other stuff, particularly the ML stuff getting anyone very excited. People with big ML requirements can already choose from a range of established stacks from AMD, nVidia, Amazon, Google et al, with the Amazon offering showing the flexibility of the ARM architecture. And why are the alternatives around? Because Intel was too slow to listen to customer and see the potential.

But the company still has some great hardware and software engineers.

Snortical warfare: Wild boar launches amphibious assault against German beachgoers

Re: Absolutely livid Boar!

They don't like dogs...

And they are not scared of them.

Re: Poor boar

It looks like only a little one otherwise the guy with the paddle might well have had something more to think about.

Wild boar aren't timid, just not stupid. They occasionally cause trouble when they move into new neighbourhoods until they realise that the two-legs patches aren't worth the trouble. But they've also been culled recently because of the spread of African Swine Flu, and that's quite likely to be the fate of this little porker. :-(

Re: FKK

Indeed, the sanctions for public nudity are probably even more severe. But FKK doesn't upset as many people in Jormany as it does in Blighty.

Softbank confirms talks to offload Arm as it posts rebound profit

Re: @Stumpy

You seem to wilfully misunderstand my point: "national champions" generally refers to government supported businesses. Think of British Rail, British Leyland, etc. The BBC Micro was actively opposed by the government at the time and the BBC continues to attract fire for any kind of technological investment.

Worth noting of the companies you list how dependent they are on foreign markets. AstraZeneca is Anglo-Swedish. BAe bet heavily (and lost) on US DoD contracts over further European integration and Vodafone's UK operation has always been in trouble: it's been bankrolled by Germany for years.

The government's fondness for VCs and their fintech investments means that interesting engineering companies have a far harder time of it than in other countries.

Re: @Stumpy

Possibly, but you've also got to be able to make it as well. ARM's value stemmed from the open system it helped create. This had made things safer for all of us and you can buy similar chips from different vendors.

But ownership of the IP was lost to Blighty when Softbank bought ARM. And Britain's track record of supporting "national champions" really is the biggest argument against trying it again. I'd say especially with what looks a particularly poor and inept government, but experience has shown that any government likes to get involved (cock up) its national champions.

The money could be better spent on educating the next generation of chip designers and helping innovative firms develop their products: the UK has a good record in innovation in aerospace combined with an inability to keep the companies in the UK.

Re: A bidding war...

There's no indication of this being the case, in fact quite the opposite. If ARM were sold to a rival you can expect a very long list of anti-trust suits. SoftBank wanting to sell makes this a buyer's market.

You should snap up a controlling stake in ARM (if not buy them completely from SoftBank) and then LEAVE THEM TO GET ON WITH IT WITHOUT INTERFERENCE.

That's an oxymoron: if you have control, you will. But it doesn't matter as this option is no longer available.

Bouncing back

SoftBank has bounced back from a historic loss …

Seeing as the profits came through divestitures then the results are not a bounce but a cut. Market conditions, particularly in China improved significantly in the 2nd quarter.

COVID-19 has done what Microsoft and Intel couldn't – given people a reason for a PC upgrade

Upgrades not replacements?

I would have thought that any machine that can run Windows 10 ought to be okay for remote working. But I do know of a few companies that used government largesse to buy notebooks for workers so that they could work remotely, which is the kind of stimulus the government was after.

But this will be one off.

Some lucky web developer just scored $20k to scour Facebook out of Neil Young’s website

Re: All social media

Too bad we let schools do to much of raising kids, and that schools don't teach critical thinking

This is so true and so shocking for many visitors to America. Sadly, however, it seems to being increasingly sucessfully exported.

Police face-recog tech use in Welsh capital of Cardiff was unlawful – Court of Appeal

I'm not arguing for automatic face recognition systems like this to be used, just answering a question over their fallibility.

It's less accurate which means both false positives and false negatives: some innocents will be fingered for things they didn't do and some baddies will get away. Note, it's not just training data that's at fault, though that's the main issue, cameras may have to be optimised to make sure images have sufficient contrast.

How is Trump's anti-Chinese rhetoric playing out? 70% of smartphones sold in the US are – surprise – made in China

Comparatives

This was on the back of a 10 per cent year-on-year spike in sales to 15 million in a total market that declined 5 per cent to 31.9 million.

This, and the rest of the paragraph is confusing because it mixes relative growth for different scales. Far better to lead with the declining market and then highlight that not only did Apple grow market share, it also sold more devices. And, while the I-Phones are made in Shenzhen (and who knows what else gets soldered in) the value is earned in the US.

But I think the US is increasingly an outlier here.

Re: The reason is exactly that...

Well, Deng was it in all but name, and he was perhaps shrewder: for all the talk of "Qi thought", it still looks very much like Deng's China.

Moral: don't mess with the president of bridge club!

Xiaomi turns 10 and celebrates by sitting down to relax in front of its new transparent television

Samsung demoed this a while back

And the demo included making use of the transparency for effects including playing games with people on different sides of the TV. IIRC, which I probably don't. Otherwise informational displays, window display, etc.

What are you gonna do? Give me detention? Illinois schools ban pyjamas in online classes

Re: Hmmm, how the hell?

I'm basically in agreement with you but a couple of points:

• sitting in bed is poor ergonomics and probably not the best position for distance learning. Then again, many households might not have the resources for a choice.
• The clothes shouldn't become an object of discussion during the lesson, so neutral clothes are less of a distraction. But better still to have the kids cameras disabled unless absolutely necessary. Not least the privacy aspect: young kids on an online video conference potentially in their underwear? Think of the potential lawsuits in the land of unlimited liability if someone were to record and publish the lessons!

Huawei Matebook X Pro 2020: Nothing too crazy but at least it's more fixable and cheaper than comparable Apple wares

Re: Like comparing an apple with a watermelon

I'ld like to see you go jogging with a water melon…

These machines are very similar to MacBooks, hence the comparable prices. One thing you should note re. the screen is the resolution. I don't know what your 17" has, but these are all very high-res which pushes up the cost. But you are also paying for power/weight: who wants to lump a 17" machine around? These devices weigh around 1.2 kg and will give you a day's use from the battery.

China now blocking ESNI-enabled TLS 1.3 connections, say Great-Firewall-watchers

Re: Satellite broadband?

Take out the satellites? Or at least their transmitters…

Anyway, anyone offering the services will presumably want to bill for the service and blocking payments will be pretty easy.

With this Uber get-to-work-safe app, you are really spoiling us, ServiceNow

Re: Do I understand this correctly?

Like I said, I think this probably is yet another solution in search of a problem but I think that part of the article is wrong. This is about scheduling stuff within a business workflow. Though obviously we don't need to take it seriously until coffee from Starbucks and donuts from Dunkin or Krispy Kreme are included…

Pen Test Partners: Boeing 747s receive critical software updates over 3.5" floppy disks

Re: Honestly..

Far longer than you can expect any USB-stick to… though I don't think that's necessarily the main factor here: it's the consistency of the interface rather than the durability of the media that matter.

Of course, they could always follow the lead of the automobile industry and allow the control systems to be hacked from the entertainment system. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

Huawei running out of smartphone CPUs as US sanctions begin to bite

Re: Kirin will become Karen

Probably will in most places it will: current research suggests the threshold is 40 - 60% of the population and even in the wackiest parts of the US (of which there are a lot, and boy are some of them wacky) don't have enough of the anti-vaxers to make a difference and the low mortality rate will do the rest.

Re: Kirin will become Karen

Trump's cack-handed handling of Covid-19 might well cost him the election (retirees in Florida spring to mind) but it's not relevant here and your disaster scenario is way overblown. Yes, there will be many more deaths but still in the hundreds of thousands, not millions. Deaths / 100,000 the US is still below a number of European countries, though it is getting "there".

Re: Cnutism - not a good thing indeed

What's worse, is if China are able to become completely technologically and economically independent from the rest of the world

This is highly unlikely, which is why it is so heavily involved in ensuring its energy and commodities supplies around the world. China has different priorities to the West but closing itself off again is currently one of them.