Posts by David McCoy 30 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Aug 2008
In other news buggy whip makers mourn loss of revenue because people have moved to automobiles.
If a business reduces costs and tax liability they expect to be congratulated, when a person does, fuck that, we need to find new ways to screw them over.
Dear Deutsche Bank, things change, get used to it.
Back in the early nineties when the Office of Corrections embraced IT and decided that every Prison Governor would get their own laptop, DOS 6.2, WordPerfect and Quattro Pro* on a basic Compaq with a trackball attached to the side I was often called into the boss's office to explain the finer points of computers eg, how to turn it on. One day he was complaining that he couldn't read files from the "things Spock is always walking around with in Star Trek." Sure enough the disks, a whole 10 pack, proved to be unreadable. While tapping one on my had while trying to think what Moby had done I noticed a slightly roughness on the back of the disk, looking I discovered a hole with a raised edge, turning it over I found a smooth hole on the front. Checking all the disks they had the same hole. I had a sinking feeling at that point, so I asked him a question, Sure enough, El Supremo had been pinning his disks to his cork board at home.
*Moby, why is there a golf sim on your official not to have any unauthorised software government issued laptop? A golf sim? I have no idea how that got on there
I'm starting to wonder who at Microsoft is on Apple's Christmas card list.
Since w10 came out I have seen a shift away from MS by my clients, who are mainly home users and a few small businesses, to Apple and non-MS Office programs. One small business that had been happily running Win7 boxes that I had built for them years back has just migrated to Apple after the owner's son updated the pc's to win10 (without asking or telling anyone) and a year of continual crashes and other problems.
I have been encouraging other clients to make the move to either Apple or Linux Mint since win10 first reared it's head. With one exception, they have all been happy to make the switch. Often telling me that they wish someone had told them about Mac years ago. The one exception was someone I specifically told he had to stick with windows because of software he ran that was only available in windows format. the other move that has been accelerating for around 5 years has been from desktop or laptop machines to tablets.
Over the last three years I would say my business has moved from 95% Windows, 4% Apple and 1% Linux to 65% Windows, 30% Apple, 2.5% linux, and 2.5% tablet.
Ah technology, Soon the old cry of the Totalitarian State "Papers! Now! will be replaced by "Give us yer dabs, Chum"
I expect to see this roll out across the Commonwealth after the next CHOGM.
So glad my grandfather and other family members who fought to preserve the rights of man are long dead.
Since the advent of Vista, I have been offering the choice of OS on systems I build.
Occasionally I get asked to do a dual-boot system, and about 50% of the time I've had it back to wipe the windows partition, and, it must be said, 10 to 15% ask to have linux removed in favour of windows. Usually because they have bought an el-cheapo windows only printer, occasionally because their boss has insisted that their system be Windows, or we can't find a linux equivalent for a windows program that they do need, usually Quickbooks or MYOB.
The pricing of the systems reflect that I can download a copy of, usually, LinuxMint in about 15 minutes and burn it to a dvd and that the setup is far quicker than for Windows.
Windows is still leading the install rate at roughly 80%, because that's what people are used to.
I consider that every time I have to have surgery, but I trust my regular surgeon to have the knowledge and experience to do what he considers at the time the best by me. I feel the same way about the people sitting in front of the shiny metal tube that contains me and 200+ fellow meat sacks at 20000 feet. A human will keep trying up until the end. I would trust a human over a computer any day.
Humans are erratic, prone to error and can break down at any time for any number of reasons, but a human with training and experience can think outside the box, and create solutions where a computerised system will find none.
A human pilot also literally has skin in the game when things go wahoonie-shaped.
A computer has no conciousness, no desire for self-preservation. If the algorithms say,“you're S.O.L pal.', it won't even try to come back with, “think so? Well watch this!”
when they can program a flight system with that attitude, I'll consider getting on a human pilotless aircraft.
I had a client who built a "high spec" gaming system, in a micro ATX box. finding that the honking great graphics card with its three fans and an aluminium heat sink that Scotty could have used to keep the warp core cool was getting fouled on the cables of the hard drive he resolved to move the hard drive forward in the case. He achieved this by taking the hard drive out to his shed, sticking it in a vise, and then drilling four carefully measured, and centre -punched holes via his drill press, straight into the disk chamber. He brought it to me when it mysteriously refused to boot.
I've built 12 Linux Mint systems for clients since Windows 10 reared its head, I've moved another 20 from win 7/8/8.1/10 to it, including my father's win 7 system. I have had 2 hardware issues in that time, both printer related. Everything else just works. They keep on going like the energiser bunny.
Simon obviously has more patience than I do .
if it had been me in his situation the conversation would have ended shortly after
the Health and Safety gremlin uttered the word
"computery"
riiiight
adopt Grytpype-Thynne voice
"neddy, close your eyes and say "ow, my bleeding' head"
thud
roll of carpet, shovel, bags of lime, white van..
What about The Poor? Open free clinics. Limit the care, no heart bypasses, no liver or kidney transplants.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
I don't see anywhere in the Declaration of Independence that Thomas Jefferson said, "but only if you're rich"
Just went and looked at the xkcd what if you cited. quite good I thought.
I was particularly taken by the last two sentences;
"But just to be sure, I got in touch with a friend of mine who works at a research reactor, and asked him what he thought would happen to you if you tried to swim in their radiation containment pool.
“In our reactor?” He thought about it for a moment. “You’d die pretty quickly, before reaching the water, from gunshot wounds.” "
Possible contenders, just off the top of my head
Gallaghers Glacier by leigh & Walt Richmond
The Man Who Corrupted Earth by G C Edmondson
at least 4 of RAHs stories including The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
The High Justice short stories of Dr Jerry Pournelle.
And I think Spider Robinson used it in a short story published in Galaxy/Worlds of If magazine back around 1976
Forget the shiny penny, I'll have beer
Title says it all really.
I have a computer shop and in the last 4 weeks have had around 1 system a week coming in with this infection. In at least one case the person had paid for the privilege of infecting their system.
holding up against a wall and stoning is too good for the people who perpetuate these sort of scams
I agree with you. I have a bet going with an american friend of mine as to whether or not there is going to be a Presidential election come november.
I just hope he and his family have gotten out before then so I'll have a chance to collect.
is it just me or is amanfrommars suddenly making a lot more sense in his posts?
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