Posts by James Wilson

UK's Online Safety Bill drops rules forcing social media to remove 'legal but harmful' content

Re: An exercise in pointlessness

Careful, feelings may run high, this is a highly emu-tive subject.

And yes, that's a standard el-Reg-sarcastic-pedant way of pointing out it's Chris *Rea*.

Boss broke servers with a careless bit of keyboarding, leaving techies to sort it out late on a Sunday

Re: Bosses shouldn't touch stuff...

I can stand up then! Though I should probably sit down after the time I entered (as root - yes, I know, I'm not so thick now):

rm -rf /somedirectory/ *

Note the space between the last slash and the star. Oops.

To make this computer work, users had to press a button. Why didn't it work? Guess

Re: Manual is optional,

Which category does the cattle-prod come under?

Rookie programmer's code goes up in flames ... kind of

I'd have accepted the blame for that one

Would be worth it to have the reputation as someone who could burn down a store with a code update.

Fixing an upside-down USB plug: A case of supporting the insupportable

Re: One word.

In school I had a friend who really should have become a QA tester, he could unfailingly find the unique combination to trigger the obscure bug in my code[1]. One time I thought I had him beaten, my program steadfastly refused to crash. Until he asked "what's that" and pointed at the screen, a centimetre-long spark went between it and his finger and the machine died.

[1] Or maybe, just maybe, I wasn't as good as I thought and my schoolboy code was littered with bugs and he just happened to find some of them. Nah, that can't be right, Shirley?

Braking news: Cops slammed for spamming Waze to slow drivers down

Re: feels valid to me

When a car is moving at a reasonable speed then it generates an area of low pressure behind it, particularly if the car has quite a large rear. That sucks up dirty water off of the ground, some of which will then end up on the back of the car.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Now 100,000kg smaller

Re: hype

Um, so you think if it's recycled then humanity will use the resulting plastic, however if it's incinerated then we will go without rather than using virgin plastic instead? I'm afraid I don't share your optimism.

Also the people doing this care enough about it to have put together a company and created the technology, while we sit at our keyboards and comment on El Reg articles. I suspect they've put a bit of thought in to the sea-life bit as well.

Microsoft veteran on how he forged a badge to sneak into a Ballmer presentation

Re: frequent password change

I particularly enjoy the "That password does not meet the required length and/or complexity requirements" message I often get. Particularly when I discover that the "complexity" it's moaning about is that I tried to re-use one of my last 20 passwords.

Seriously, you do not want to make that cable your earth

Re: Ah DEC

There's a number? I usually need support if I have to go to Basingstoke too.

Are we springing into a Y2K-class nightmare?

Re: if programmed correctly, mean that a straightforward update will do the trick

I'm a lazy programmer! That means I don't want to go back and sort out messes caught by short cuts in the first implementation so stuff like this is never hard-coded.

Though I'm happy to admit to being lazy (it is one of the three virtues after all) I do my best not to be shoddy and, well, you'd have to ask my peers about competency.

Bouncing cheques or a bouncy landing? All in a day's work for the expert pilot

Re: In the pilot's defense...

It's not just the extra power. I passed my test and went from a Suzuki GS125 to a Honda CBR600F. Got to the first corner and, oh, totally different feel and experience. Still, somehow I got round it, then learned to ride a big bike properly and had lots of fun on that CBR (until some complete b*stard nicked it).

I was totally behind when they put in the progressive access / direct access licence distinctions, hopefully saved a few people doing the same as me and coming off a lot worse!

Do you know what TikTok is? Then you might make a good magistrate, says Ministry of Justice

Re: I read the FAQ...

Hand me the black cap, will you, I'll be needing that

Nothing's working, and I've checked everything, so it must be YOUR fault

Re: Printer Cartridge

My father asked for help as the stupid new cartridge he'd put in his printer wouldn't come out at all. I eventually managed to extract the black cartridge from the colour slot. In his defence the cartridges on that printer are the same size, though slightly more damning is that he had needed to force it past the plastic part that is there to stop you putting one in the wrong slot.

Shocking: UK electricity tariffs are among world's most expensive

Re: Blame the renewables

Yep. That's the point. The move to renewables isn't because because they're cheaper, it's because if we continue to burn dead dinosaurs at the rate we are then we'll make (even more of) a mess of the planet.

A lightbulb moment comes too late to save a mainframe engineer's blushes

Re: I had a somewhat similar problem

I had that. Rode back from deity-knows-where in small bursts (of incredibly boring but very fuel-efficient riding) between stopping to open the fuel cap and allow some air in. I can't remember if the bike had some safety feature where I couldn't get the key out of the cap without it being closed or I was just too young and dumb to think of riding along with it open.

Remember SoftRAM 95? Compression app claimed to double memory in Windows but actually did nothing at all

4MB of RAM

Ah, I remember when Dell accidentally put 4MB of RAM in to the new 486 my mum bought, even though she'd decided that was too expensive and gone for 1MB. Man, that thing FLEW!

F*ck, I'm old.

Tech support scams subside somewhat, but Millennials and Gen Z think they're bulletproof and suffer

Re: "recent accident"

My favourite is "f***ing hell, that was quick, they haven't even cut me out yet"

Brit MPs and campaigners come together to oppose COVID status certificates as 'divisive and discriminatory'

But conversely you can say no-one should be stopped from visiting a pub/restaurant/etc because they would have a significantly heightened risk due to not knowing if the other people there are vaccinated.

Re: Not "divisive and discriminatory", but essential

Yes, the vaccination should be (and is) voluntary, people can chose not to have one. However that doesn't mean the right to chose not to have one comes without any implications at all. While it shouldn't be effectively obligatory (e.g. you can't go in a supermarket without a vaccination or an exemption) it should be reasonable for e.g. mass events to insist on one.

Re: Not "divisive and discriminatory", but essential

I know at least 2 such idiots and they're not social outcasts. Though one works in sales which is pretty close. On reflection that's a good group to target as they'll meet a lot more people than us nerdy IT loners, and their grasp of science ... well let's be kind and say it is variable.

Re: Not "divisive and discriminatory", but essential

No, they don't prove you are safe, but they do show you're much safer than you otherwise would be. Seatbelts don't save 100% of lives yet we (in the UK at least, YMMV) do say they're obligatory. I wonder if when that was introduced there were arguments about people wearing seatbelts believing they are safe and likely to drive with less caution?

Why yes, I'll take that commendation for fixing the thing I broke

Re: Wisdom = learning from others' mistakes

Mee

Microsoft settles £200,000+ claims against tech support scammers who ran global ripoff from cottage in Surrey

Re: This Morning

Mine are mostly either from Amazon or an ISP these days. I always press 1. I think the best I've managed is about 25 minutes before they realised I'm not actually following their instructions and installing a remote desktop program. Some take it gracefully, others get a bit sweary.

VS Code acknowledges its elders: Makefile projects get an official extension – and VIM mode is on the backlog

Ctrl-d. I have the 'Duplicate selection or line' extension installed.

Looking for the perfect Valentine's gift? How about a week of retro gaming BBC Microlympics?

I've only just seen this so missed midnight on the 15th, does anyone know if I can still get the link for Chuckie Egg?

Adidas now stands for All Day I'm Disconnecting All Servers as owners of 'smart' Libra scales furious over bricked kit

Re: A genuine question

Edit your online shopping list? "Alexa, take pies and cake off the Tesco order."

Faxing hell: The cops say they would very much like us to stop calling them all the time

Re: I called the cops

Only if you're getting it from Priti Patel

To test its security mid-pandemic, GitLab tried phishing its own work-from-home staff. 1 in 5 fell for it

Re: I have been caught out....

Keep reporting them. When enough people do then the InfoSec people can show the pointy-haireds and say "look, you're training your staff to get pwned, here are some examples of where that's cost companies millions". We haven't got the the point where all genuine company emails have the right domain etc. (it appears some people have worse turning circles than supertankers) but we do at least now have an intranet page listing the legit-but-dodgy-looking ones and nearly-all the genuine ones have a message in them about checking that page first. It ain't perfect but it's progress.

Caveat: I ain't an InfoSec expert, just a code monkey who likes pointing out where things are wrong.

Facebook sort-of blocks anti-quarantine events – how many folks are actually behind these 'massive' protests online?

Re: Big rant, lots of capital letters...

Well, possibly, but it depends on the numbers and the evidence. We're in to 10s of thousands already *with* the lockdowns in place, without then projections were 100s of thousands. If there's good evidence that continuing to lock down for at least several more weeks would cause millions, or even 100s of thousands, of deaths over the next few years then yes there are 2 legitimate arguments. If it's a number plucked out of thin air by people who are distressed (and yes, there are going to be a lot of people legitimately in severe distress right now), or the calculations aren't including the number that would be caused by the financial impact of letting the virus rip through the population (as that isn't going to be trivial either), then you can't say it's a lie that there is only one sensible course of action.

Yes, there are 2 arguments, but I'm going to need to hear some convincing backup before you can convince me that both are legitimate.

A paper clip, a spool of phone wire and a recalcitrant RS-232 line: Going MacGyver in the wonderful world of hotel IT

Re: Proper lash up

Like the 'temporary' speed restriction over the weak bridge on the A335. The signs put up for it suggest the expectation is that it will be in place for a while. Been a few years already I think (I haven't counted).

Watch out, everyone, here come the Coronavirus Cops, enjoying their little slice of power way too much

Re: Hack is the right word

As with pretty much everything, there are two sides. Most police are doing their best to get people to follow the guidelines & laws (there's a mixture of both) in a friendly, non-confrontational way. A small proportion will of course continue being complete arses. In the same way most of the general public are good-naturedly being considerate and doing what they can, a small proportion will continue being too thick and/or selfish and do whatever they want.

In my not-so-humble opinion the drone video was a massive fuck-up, a great example of wasting time and shooting yourself in the foot. Having a form to alert about people not playing nicely (and, shock-horror, one that's nice and simple so can be filled in quickly and easily - <fe>I'm sure there would have been plaudits had it been a hideous UI disaster</fe>) sounds like it might well be useful. Sure, there will be some people submitting it 'cos they're self-righteous gits, but also some helpful data to guide the police to people flaunting the lockdown and making it go on longer for the rest of us.

So yeah, it is a rant unfairly lumping a large group of individuals in to one block so as to complain about them, but it is Bombastic Kieran so I'm afraid par for the course. Try not to let it dampen your day, go for your one bit of outdoor exercise for the day and enjoy the fact that most people are doing their best in difficult circumstances.

As Australia is gripped by bog roll shortage, tabloid says: Here, fill your dunny with us

Re: Wash your hands as if

Wash your hands as if you just finished chopping jalapenos and need to have a piss.

It happened to a friend. No, seriously, it was a friend, but the look on his face when he returned from the bathroom was enough to teach me that lesson for life.

Brits may still be struck by Lightning, but EU lawmakers vote for bloc-wide common charging rules

Re: Hopefully the UK will follow this

Yeah, I've tried inserting a micro male connector in the dark. The wife generally isn't impressed.

What's that? USB? Oooooh right, sorry, wrong topic, you can ignore me.

The time PC Tools spared an aerospace techie the blushes

Try 'rm -rf some_directory /*'

Note the space between some_directory and the slash. Run as root.

What a complete eejit. I now make sure that muppet has the least permissions possible, and I check all his stuff thoroughly.

Yes, I am said muppet.

Judge shoots down Trump admin's efforts to allow folks to post shoddy 3D printer gun blueprints online

Re: More guns = safer for everyone

"the number of folk killed by their own* gins is very high"

Distilling is a tricky art, but I didn't realise so many people were making literally lethal booze.

Sorry, I know it's just a typo and we all make them, this one was just particularly good :-).

Hey, I wrote this neat little program for you guys called the IMAC User Notification Tool

Not an acronym but the owner of a company I used to work for had an unfortunate habit of mis-spelling 'analyse' by using an i instead of a y

Re: I almost got there..

We have a Business Services division. Cue lots of things like "Oh, that's a BS query"...

Baby alert! Japan Air lets passengers book seats far away from screaming abdabs

Re: Alitalia

Arrive Late In Turin, All Luggage In Athens

Behold the perils of trying to turn the family and friends support line into a sideline

Re: Obligatory XKCD

Ah yeah, I went straight to a 600 (CBR600 in grey, lovely bike until some b*stards nicked it) as my first bike after passing my test on a 125, as was completely normal back then. That was a steep learning curve, I don't know how I made it round my first corner.

Senior slippery sex stimulator sales exec sacked for shafting .org-asmic cyber-space place, a tribunal hears

Viagra is a "back-to-back bonking drug"?

How does that work exactly? Front-to-back I can get (on a good day) but that one's beyond me and I fail to see how even Viagra is going to help.

Smartphone SatNavs to get centimetre-perfect GNSS receivers in 2018

Re: What's the frequecny Kenneth?

+1 for the REM reference. I'll let you off the typo.

Hi Amazon, Google, Apple we might tax you on revenue rather than profit – love, Europe

Re: Back to the USSR

How well did that work out for the Soviet block? I know if I had to go back then and choose one model to go with it would be an easy decision.

Spend your paper £5 notes NOW: No longer legal tender after today

Banks will take fivers for a while

Asked in the local Barclays yesterday and was told they'll take them for "ages". Apparently they'll still do so for £1 notes!

Anti-TV Licensing petition gets May date for Parliament debate

Re: Good going cobber - Pollution reasons

>So this means at least 50mph as many cars are most economical around 56mph.

Actually cars are almost always most economical below 40mph, and some considerably less than that.

Basic income after automation? That’s not how capitalism works

Re: Errrm

Everything that needs to be done will be (by the machines) so you won't need a job as, well, everything will be done for you.

Re: Errrm

They weren't. US wages have increased broadly in line with productivity.

Yahoo! halts! email! forwarding! to! outside! email! addresses!

Re: Only push, not pull?

Hmm. Recently when I've logged in to Yahoo! mail it's suggested turning off access via "less secure methods" than it's own apps, I wonder if said method is POP3 access. I'll check later.

'Facebook and eBay need to be subject to greater scrutiny' - Margaret Hodge

Re: Ha

Part of me thinks someone should point out to her that if the companies are following the law and she doesn't like the outcome then perhaps her time would be very much better spent trying to change the law (seeing as she's a politician, so that's her responsibility) rather than writing books saying how unfair it all is. Then a much larger part of me thinks that her doing anything other than modifying tax legislation is a very good idea indeed.

FT journo roasts channel leaders for spouting bullshit

Re: Obfuscation is as obfuscation does

Indeed. I searched a few online dictionaries just to be sure. Of course in the room that wasn't available to them, so her strategy worked, but if she did that to me I'd be ready to call her on anything she came up with any subsequent times we met. If you're going to be pedantic it helps to be right.

Narcissist Heidi Powell wants her dot-com and she wants it now, now, NOW!

Has anyone checked

if itaughtheidipowellhowtogivehead.com is registered?