* Posts by Steve Jackson

76 publicly visible posts • joined 1 Oct 2008

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Top Linux distros drop fresh beats

Steve Jackson

Re: Preparing for October 2025

You're going to want to get off that PoV once you've evolved....

Windows 11 24H2 is coming so we can all shut up about Windows 12 for another year

Steve Jackson

Re: Reviewed our 30 user estate earlier this month

Look how long Mac OSX hung around.

Now they are on what, 14?

Kind of implies they haven’t got it right the other nine (less with Windows) times?

The next move will be to 24.x as Linux, LO, etc.

Back in the summer of ‘95….

….coat still on peg.

Something nasty injected login-stealing JavaScript into 50K online banking sessions

Steve Jackson

Use a different browser sans plugins etc. for banking than your daily driver browser.

NASA engineers scratch heads as Voyager 1 starts spouting cosmic gibberish

Steve Jackson

Re: Have they tried

Spontaneously Scheduled Hard Reset

Wish you could sing like Charli XCX or possess any musical talent? YouTube AI might make that happen

Steve Jackson

Re: Who?

I’ve heard of four. Positively down wiv da yoof!

Windows 11: The number you have dialed has been disconnected

Steve Jackson

Re: Built to last

Yes, but W9x was the other 4.0 Remind ME (because I didn't go there)?

NT 3 (& .5)

NT 4.0

2000 was 5.1

9x left it's mark quite meaningfully I think

EU threatens X with DSA penalties over spread of Israel-Hamas disinformation

Steve Jackson

We can’t have Xeeted.

Xpressed, Xpelled, Xed even.

What say you?

Germany's wild boars still too radioactive to eat largely due to Cold War nuke tests

Steve Jackson

I think Cesium-135 grates throughout.

When does the US realise that “for those outside” “y’all just plain wrong, stoopid”?

Microsoft whips out probe after Windows 11 users suffer the blue-screen blues

Steve Jackson

Horse crossing.

From cage fight to page fight: Twitter threatens to sue Meta after Threads app launch

Steve Jackson

Only one person responsible for the "ex Twits" being so numerous and available. You reap what you sack?

Microsoft investigating bug in Windows 11 File Explorer that makes the CPU hangry

Steve Jackson

Re: Same old

The pleadings not to install Chrome are still valid. It’s just that leaves you with Edge if you have no clue.

Pixies keep switching off my morning alarm, says Google Pixel owner

Steve Jackson
Pint

Re: "Cult dad rockers"? Nah

Seven upvotes? You won the internet this morning

Apple pushes first-ever 'rapid' patch – and rapidly screws up

Steve Jackson

Re: This is the reason "you turn off this default setting..."

But that means the gap is there.

Often I find the update only by seeking, Apple’s idea of automatic must mean slowly staged as I’m often seeking. It doesn’t change that the patch is out for a couple of days or more before I see it.

Have three iThings, my phone is the seeker.

CAN do attitude: How thieves steal cars using network bus

Steve Jackson

This kinda stuff is sold as convenience and generally ends up working against you

Inconvenient.

At least with this they still had to rip parts of the car physically apart.

The perfect crime will be when your car just drives off to RV with the attacker.

I can wait....probably not long.

TikTok: Is this really a national security scare or is something else going on?

Steve Jackson

Re: "Nations are one by one banning it from government-owned devices"

But aren't MP's supposed to be just people (HoC at least) elected to serve us?

AIUI they get expensed to provide their office, so I would think they would not be mandated to use Govt. owned devices? Or am I being too simplistic?

If MPs were handed official HM Govt phones that were vetted and controlled, I don't think a lot of comms traffic would necessarily go through them? Or am I being too cynical? Not cynical enough? Naive? FTFY :)

So it's a massive BYOD party?

Intel aims for lower-power GPUs as Nvidia pushes pricey energy guzzlers

Steve Jackson

£1500+ for a power hungry graphics card just continues to place tech as bad guys in this age of responsibility, as did BTC proof of work.

When you consider the computational power afforded assembling a system at equal monetary value, whilst it's clear said machine to run such a card is not a simple side show, it's a disproportionate amount of expenditure on one item.

Intel I'm not so sure (vis a vis power requirements for latest processors versus the competition) share the "correct" world view but it's difficult to see how they could otherwise achieve any market inroads; except in the 'forgotten' market segment (which is where I'm sure the majority of users would prefer to exist).

But yeah, (low) power to them. Plus a third way is always a nice 'to have'.

Microsoft warns: Windows 11 update breaks provisioning

Steve Jackson

Unsupported device (although I suspect it would work fine i5 7thGen, 8GB, TPM 2.0) on W10 RP (19045) being offered W11 22H2 (22621/22623)....

Google says there's no Waze forward, carpool app axed

Steve Jackson
Coat

But do you swipe left or right?

Microsoft's latest security patch troubles Windows 11 users

Steve Jackson

Re: No Problems for My Windows 11 Installation

Concur. You can always find an outraged user in the internet.

There’s usually an underlying issue.

Older AMD, Intel chips vulnerable to data-leaking 'Retbleed' Spectre variant

Steve Jackson

Is it me or is it just those chips that perhaps should have made the cut for W11 hardware requirements?

Skylake (refresh of a refresh) made it actually and Zen/Zen+ doesn't perform badly.

As usual, I guess we should infer that plenty of unsupported W10 hardware Intel Core to Core 5 and AMD (whatever it was, Dozer?) are also vulnerable?

OpenShell has been working on a classic replacement for Windows 11's Start menu

Steve Jackson
Pint

StartAllBack

Icon because, cost. You’re worth it. And, you’re welcome.

Microsoft makes tweaks to Windows 11 Start Menu for Insiders but stops short of mimicking Windows 10

Steve Jackson

CTRL & ESC is the WIN key :) Hope things aren't forgotten.

They need to fix the Tray Overflow and return 'Show All' please.

Been using StartIsBack / StartAllBack since W8.1, still doing.

ZIPX files that aren't: Keep a weather eye out for disguised malware in email attachments

Steve Jackson

Any word on the vulnerable version of 7Zip?

19.00 is long in the tooth and 21.01 in alpha, no mention of the vulnerability on the forum....

5 months later, 37.7% of Windows 10 PCs are running the May 2020 Update... Wait, people are still on 1809?

Steve Jackson

The joke is W10 is still planned for EOL in 2025 according to the MS roadmap.

UK regulator Ofcom to ban carriers from selling locked handsets to make dumping clingy networks even easier

Steve Jackson
Facepalm

Re: Price rises on their way then.

Yeah, the cuffing is to protect the cost of the phone the network gives with the contract. So yeah, expect massive price rises on handsets. Or it'll just switch to you having a HP deal on the phone with the network that the SIM is just another part of the deal. I've always found unlocking to be simple, quick and automatic by some networks once the handset cost is absorbed (usually in the last 6 months of a 24 month contract).

0ops. 1,OOO-plus parking fine refunds ordered after drivers typed 'O' instead of '0'

Steve Jackson

Re: Ohhh The Pain The Pain!

QUUERTY that’s what he said

Microsoft spreads the Cortana love to more Insiders with new Windows 10 preview

Steve Jackson

The worrying aspect is why we are thrown back into previous versions of Windows to deal with "recalcitrant network adapters" so often....

'Transformation' at Capita: Profits? Down. Revenue? Down. Order book? You guessed it

Steve Jackson

I wanted the Picard gag. Shoulda got up a couple of hours before I went to bed.

Windows 10 May 2019 Update thwarted by obscure tech known as 'external storage'

Steve Jackson
Coffee/keyboard

Graceless :)

Hopping the user into the Insider ring worked and the update to 18362.53 takes them back out if you check the 'opt me out of Insider builds when this version of Windows is public' (I'm paraphrasing).

The ISO I have was built using UUP (18362.30) and increasingly I am hitting this 'can't be upgraded' message. As someone pointed out earlier, since 1809 the image is too big for DVD5 I am using a Rufus USB (64GB).

The workaround has been to do a 'Keep personal files' only upgrade. It would be helpful if the setup would provide some detail of the issue but it's fairly graceless. At the coalface there's not enough time to analyse what the sticking point is, but this news is fairly useful.

Machines often come without opticals now so your upgrade stick would be D: by default in the absence of all other (pointless) data partitions, especially on smaller SSDs.

So, musing around this point what about the Explorer|View|Advanced 'Hide empty drives' option? Tends to be unchecked and if an SD slot is present (without SD card or on a connected / mapped photo printer) would this also fail the install?

All's fair in love and war when tech treats you like an infant

Steve Jackson

Re: And stupid change too !

I just empty all the change from my pocket (smallest denominations first) until I hit (or exceed hugely) the payment threshold. Then I wait for the 'Vegas' moment.

Thought you were done patching this week? Not if you're using an Intel-powered PC or server

Steve Jackson

Yep they've posted advisories but there are no fixes for all

4th & 5th Gen CPUs here both on 20.19.15.5058 (15.40.41.5058)

build 5063 or higher is required.

Updates for SGX/CSME well, good luck with the OEMs is all I can say.

Northern UK smart meter rollout is too slow, snarls MPs' committee

Steve Jackson

I was rung by EDF yesterday and they still can't guarantee a SMETS2 meter so I declined until they could. This seems a simple way of putting it off as this was supposed to have stopped (installation of SMETS1) by October 5 last year. Take up must be terrific?

'This collaboration is absolutely critical going forward'... One positive thing about Meltdown CPU hole? At least it put aside tech rivalries...

Steve Jackson
Megaphone

All patchable machines can now be patched thanks to

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/4465065/kb4465065-intel-microcode-updates

version 2 which landed (without fanfare) on 5/2/19 as a standalone. KB4346084 (depending on 1803), KB4100347 (last updated 8/1/19, finally giving Spectre v2 patching to older CPUs). 19H1 will (does if you are an Insider) contain an updated mcupdateGenuineIntel.dll and the Retpoline kernel to deal with performance penalties on pre-Skylake CPUs

OEM responses have been varied between good, lamentable and non-existant.

Well Holby damned! We've caught a virus: Brit medical soap operas team up for 'cyber' episode

Steve Jackson

Re: It's not a soap

Holby City does run 52 weeks a year, it's a soap.

Are you a Windows 1 in 10 (1809)? Or a mighty 80 percenter (1803)?

Steve Jackson

Re: I feel like I deserve bragging rights, or perhaps sympathy, not sure which.

You're really not trying very hard.

Grab a bucket and spade: Sandbox open for Insiders again with fresh Windows 10 build

Steve Jackson

Glad I gave in and upgraded to Pro. But then I haven't had to clean install since then either.

Microsoft readies the swatter as more bugs wriggle out of the Windows 10 woodwork

Steve Jackson

17763.167 is out in RP (or standalone) and my WMP slider is fine. Also can set Notepad as default app.

YMMV

If at first or second you don't succeed, you may be Microsoft: Hold off installing re-released Windows Oct Update

Steve Jackson
WTF?

Can somebody explain to me what Win-10-nic is supposed to convey?

It doesn't scan or ring any bells with me. I'd love to be in on the joke, insult or whatever it is supposed to imply, assert or mock.

Please and thank you.

PortSmash attack blasts hole in Intel's Hyper-Threading CPUs, leaves with secret crypto keys

Steve Jackson

Most laptops can't turn SMT/HT off due to restricted / limited BIOS.

Needs a software switch, seem to think it can be done, but is it effective?

Like Spectre, I prefer the hardware mitigations rather than relying 100% on software.

5.1 update sends Apple's Watch 4 bling spinning into an Infinite Loop of reboot cycles

Steve Jackson

Every device should have a hardware reset option. AFAIU the 'reset' option is similar to other iOS based devices but it would appear the only 'reload' connection is via BT? Clearing / resetting is only possible from a working device - oh dear.

Have they hired MS staff at Apple? Maybe the QA department can't have a series 4 Watch as it's outside operational budget....

Windows 10 1809: Now arriving on a desktop near you (if you want it)

Steve Jackson

I had to laugh at the "updated" Edge menu's striking familiarity to the Internet Explorer menu.

Has it really been hidden away so long that the design team hit on that purely by chance?

UK.gov looks to data to free people from contract lock-in doom

Steve Jackson

This kind of smacks of "haven't thought this through" doesn't it?

The whole cat and mouse game revolves around the stupid tax / inertia.

Amazon Alexa outage: Voice-activated devices are down in UK and beyond

Steve Jackson

Can't believe that some posters are ridiculous enough to think that foisting one of these devices on an elderly relative is, in some way, "caring"?

Wow.

Steve Jackson

Re: I'm affected

@DropBear Call 112 as it's Alexa Europe that was affected.

Cookie clutter: Chrome saves Google cookies from cookie jar purges

Steve Jackson

Don't be evil, just our kind of evil

Connected car data handover headache: There's no quick fix... and it's NOT just Land Rovers

Steve Jackson

Is this really any different from the key set you get when you buy a non-Smart motor?

For years, owners have legitimately been able to get a key cut, chipped and or retain / lose / forget to pass on master keys.

So when you buy used you potentially have those sets floating around or unavailable. Yes, it can cost you money.

If we're talking about the data exclusively, you're not going to convince people that don't give a hoot to ever give one.

It's the manufacturers grasp for the big data that is the problem and they really need to be custodian for their errant subjects, end of.

Ah, British summer. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the internet is on the fritz

Steve Jackson

You do the math

Come on, M22.75Seven unless you have invented the 25 hour day.

Rowhammer returns, Spectre fix unfixed, Wireguard makes a new friend, and much more

Steve Jackson

tl;dr

So timer fuzzing isn't a good mitigation against Spectre but site isolation is better?

I *did* read, but IANAP.

You've heard that pop will eat itself. Boffins have unveiled a rocket that does the same

Steve Jackson
Pint

Inject Me

I'm on top of the world, can you see that far?

Ha! Ha! Look at me Ma! I can fly as high as the sky, I am sci-fi!

You care to say, "Hi!"...I say bye-bye My positronic ray will blast the day away

So be warned!

Grolsch, obviously.

Blame everything on 'computer error' – no one will contradict you

Steve Jackson

I spent all day yesterday trying to enter my password and it wouldn't have it, yet today it's gone straight in.

"Probably a keying error" *tired sigh*

No, the damn thing was just being temperamental.

"OK" *smiles and takes proferred biscuit*

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