Posts by Fred Flintstone

Elon Musk pukes over pork-filled budget bill with Tesla subsidies on the line

Spectacular comment by the Daily Show

They came up with a frankly epic line:

"A spat between the leader of the Free World and the breeder of the Free World."

That deserves a comedy award IMHO.

EU: These are scary times – let's backdoor encryption!

It would also require a Godawful amount of wrenches..

:)

Americans set to pay more on all imports: Trump activates blanket tariffs

I have but TWO (related) questions..

1 - who was shorting stock before the announcement?

2 - who is shopping around now?

Don't look at the noise - that's just the distraction that Trump and Musk use to camouflage something else.

The above may just be what is really going on - a pump and dump scam on a massive scale.

Indeed, never seen before in the history of the world, as the orange chaos monger would say.

Amazon to kill off local Alexa processing, all voice requests shipped to the cloud

Re: Is there something very rotten in this picture?

Everyone who mentions "1984" ought to know what inspired it.

It was based on the panopticon theories of Jeremy Bentham, and there is one VERY important reason who you ought to know this:

It was meant for prisoners.

Governments can't seem to stop asking for secret backdoors

There's a simple, practical demonstration of how safe backdoor keys are

Go to Amazon, look up 'TSA keys'.

Done.

Musk and Trump to fall out in 2025, predicts analyst

Re: They will fall out over ego

Cage fight?

:)

Trump tariffs transform into bigger threats for Mexico, Canada than China

Re: Bring it on

No, just like Johnny Cash's "Ring of fire" is not about a few men enjoying an abundance of capsicum.

:)

Bitwarden switches password manager and SDK to GPL3 after FOSS-iness drama

We had a corporate demo from them, with Q&A after.

Frankly, they were simply the most convincing of all the ones we reviewed, and complete to boot. I did have to laugh as I saw the sales exec cringe when the tech guy said "there's no such thing as perfect security", but that's actually what I liked: zero BS. I prefer companies that are brutally realistic when it comes to security, especially when they're about to supply you with tools to protect your own.

Hiding from the stark reality benefits nobody. They're out there, and they're getting WAY too smart. The days of script kiddies are gone and you best learn to deal with it.

These people offer a decent product in the only way to inspire trust: by being open.

Tesla FSD faces yet another probe after fatal low-visibility crash

Re: Camera only is bad ?

But we let millions of poorly sighted people drive on the roads every day

I don't know where you are, but where I live you get your eyes tested. If you need glasses, it goes on your driving license and you need to provide evidence of recent testing to get it renewed.

Sure, a lot can happen in those 5 years but few are allowed to drive around with a white stick over here :).

First time's the charm: SpaceX catches a descending Super Heavy Booster

This event reminded me of Karate Kid

.. specifically the scene where Mr Miyagi is trying to catch a fly with chopsticks.

Space X got that right the very first time. Amazing.

Apple debuts iPhone 16, Watch Series 10, assorted AirPods

Re: Being amazed no more

Personally I miss the 'does it blend?' followups.

:)

SETI boldly looks beyond the Milky Way in latest alien hunt

Re: I mentioned something like this...

I don't think that they are looking for what I would look for... waste heat.

Makes sense, though. The last thing we need is finding more politicians..

Using 1Password on Mac? Patch up if you don’t want your Vaults raided

Re: Why aren't CVEs noted in1P release notes?

Only if you write on the front :)

Ransomware infection cuts off blood supply to 250+ hospitals

Re: Sternn!

Maybe I've read Wilt by Tom Sharpe too often, but I'm thinking sausage factory..

:)

Microsoft's Azure networking takes a worldwide tumble

Re: MS...still safer than Boeing

How would you know if you cannot log in?

CrowdStrike file update bricks Windows machines around the world

Re: S!y News and others borked

Sky News offline?

Clouds (sorry), silver lining and so on.

:)

What I actually like ..

.. is that the BBC is now asking people to explain the term "bricking" and very often mentions that MacOS en Linux (usually wrongly pronounced as Lainux) are not affected.

What entertains me most is that they keep repeating this Mac and Linux statement. Microsoft must be rather angry with Crowdstrike right now because it has significantly damaged its cult status and has made people think again about IT diversity to prevent cascade failure.

Not that it lasts, of course, but it's interesting to keep an eye on how long this will last.

From experience I give it at most a week before that fades.

With a BSOD in play they're in for a very much not fun weekend so I'm joining you in this.

Beijing's attack gang Volt Typhoon was a false flag inside job conspiracy: China

Re: Not the full bottle on XML or HTML apparently

"Lie to me was", however, a very good TV series with Tim Roth in an absulutely cracking role as lead actor Cal Lightman.

They sensibly stopped the series after 3 seasons as the core subject did have a limited range, but I suspect they would have had fun with the Trump era..

Speed limiters arrive for all new cars in the European Union

Re: No new cars in the EU then

We need a new word

The word you're looking for is Panopticon.

MIT's bionic leg upgrade leaves amputees walking like the wind

Re: The research is a leg up to potential users. Or maybe two legs on the ground?

Better sound effects too :)

EU attempt to sneak through new encryption-eroding law slammed by Signal, politicians

Re: U-turn par excellence

.. and " 'legitimate' interest".

Tesla chair begs investors to bless Musk's billions or face an Elon exodus

Re: Wave him off

Why am I immediately reminded of the Gary Lawson cartoon 'When jellyfish travel at unsafe speed"?

:)

Tesla self-driving claims parked in court

Re: Wonder what took so long

Maybe the Tesla in question itself?

They appear to do that quite a lot with FSD, so maybe that should be renamed to Full Self Destruct..

Musk schmoozes Chinese premier as Tesla Full Self-Driving remains parked

Re: Tesla has "FSD"?

Do a search for reports how well a Tesla self-parks versus other brands. It still doesn't seem to manage something that other, allegedly "less advanced" car manufacturers solved now almost a decade ago.

The main 'advanced' feature that Tesla now has is how Musk abuses social media and misinformation to pump the stock price. The 'bulletproof' Cybertruck (read: extra weight wasting energy, and no, it isn't) can't even handle a car wash, let alone offroad conditions. Again, sold mainly on the basis of a load of BS.

If I had that sort of money I'd hunt down a refitted DeLorean (there seem to be quite a few people who do this as a hobby) and buy one of those - it will even be easier to get spare parts for it..

Tesla slashes vehicle and self-driving-ish software prices as shares plummet

I don't think we're at a point yet where we know either way.

First they have to come on to the market - it's still under development and we've heard wonderful stories on just about any new development - and then they have to age. Too early.

Microsoft is a national security threat, says ex-White House cyber policy director

Re: Indeed

There is such a thing as VBA security (beyond not using it)?

You could have fooled me..

:)

Engine cover flies from Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 during takeoff

Re: I must admit, it's got me checking what I'm actually going to fly on

Isn't that the exact ploy Ryanair is planning?

You break it, you ... run away and hope somebody else fixes it

Ah, someone with REAL anti-virus software.

:)

Caffeine makes fuel cells more efficient, cuts cost of energy storage

Re: Curiously

Yes, I tend to see a lot clearer too after a good brew, so that clearly works.

:)

Proposed US surveillance regime would enlist more businesses

Re: Not Just Documenting!

Can't simultaneously promote freedom and wholesale warrantless mass surveillance and spying of one's citizens

You haven't dealt much with politicians, have you?

Tesla, Musk likely aware of Autopilot deficiencies behind Florida fatality, says judge

Re: "gross negligence"

I suspect that will depend on Goodyear (happened around the same time).

:)

We're getting that fry-day feeling... US Army gets hold of drone-cooking microwave rig

Re: Trick

... and we're back to the classics (at least in cartoons): dropping an anvil.

:)

Musk's first year as Twitter's Dear Leader is nigh

It's his cross to bear ..

Apple races to patch the latest zero-day iPhone exploit

Re: This was patched yesterday

people I don't know can't call me on Facetime

Ah. Must enable that immediately.

:)

Microsoft: China stole secret key that unlocked US govt email from crash debug dump

Re: Alternative explanation..

That's generally what the word "maybe" seeks to highlight, yes.

:)

Alternative explanation..

Maybe the key didn't actually leak at Microsoft and it has just been told to take the hit.

Maybe what really happened was that the key was stolen from one of the many agencies it must be sharing the key with, but they can't afford the embarrassment. We're as used to Microsoft causing security problems as we are to Trump committing crimes or Musk overpromising that it would not really register much..

After all, this is the same government that told you your luggage was still safe despite their mandated backdoor*, and you can get TSA keys now even from Amazon..

* _{If this sounds familiar, you're thinking of the insane idea to demand a backdoor into encryption that somehow seems to appear every 7 years or so, but in British politics.}

Twitter says it may harvest biometric, employment data from its addicts

Re: Phrenology for the 21st Century

I *so* want to see the Pentagon access control in Monsters vs Aliens implemented..

:)

I suspect Musk will mix metaphors and will start digging the moment he reaches that bottom.

And no, those supplying the shovels won't get paid, of course.

He's just trying to see how low he can go..

.. before the platform becomes simply empty.

And private data theft - well, from what I hear from Tesla that's not exactly a new idea.

We all scream for ice cream – so why are McDonald's machines always broken?

Re: Wait, their milkshake maker works like an HP printer ?

Wasn't it Dave Barry who observed you could sometimes fix a broken device by updating the warranty expiry date with a black marker?

:)

Aerial cable tangles are still being strung up, but carriers are slowly burying the problem

The problem with burying: you need a map..

The problem with sticking the cables where you can't see them is that you can't see them.

When you (or someone else) is digging, trying to find a fault, identify capacity - when you lose the map you don't get a blackout, more a slow brownout as your maintenance gradually fails.

I came across this when securing the map data of an electricity provider whose map system provider was being rather naughty.

China's top EV battery maker announced a breakthrough, but top boffin isn't convinced

Doesn't that only work if they're actually plugged in?

Re: Did nobody spot a problem with this?

This may help :).

With the voltages required to haul that amount of power I don't think you need a cable.

Just stay out of the way of the lightening bolts..

LG's $1,000 TV-in-a-briefcase is unlikely to travel much further than the garden

Re: What next?

Water in powdered form?

Boffins reckon Mars colony could survive with fewer than two dozen people

Re: 110 humans

On the other hand, how can you tell?

Cruise self-driving taxi gets wheels stuck in wet cement

Re: "We apologize to those who were impacted"

It would be hard hitting news..

/s

Context..

Other blunders from Cruise this week include allegedly almost hitting two women accompanying two children

And this, kids, is a lesson how removing context from a sentence can really mess with your interpretation..

:)