Posts by Charles 9

Putin threatens supply chains with counter-sanction order

Re: You want to play hardball?

Wish we could, but he's currently at the coal pile and he's carrying an oil lantern...

Fedora starts to simplify Linux graphics handling

Re: If these people made cars ...

More like it may be time to stop using solid wooden wheels and try something a little more modern like metal rims surrounded by pneumatic rubber tires attached to axles that are cushioned by shock absorbers. Should make for a smoother ride and make for some easier maintenance in areas, just saying.

Study: How Amazon uses Echo smart speaker conversations to target ads

Re: Divide and rule

But that's the Siege Problem. One little slip, one outside connection made by someone outside your control, and they can connect the dots.

Re: How far will they be willing to go?

In America, maybe, but Europe seems more hostile to them. Not only that, hostile overtones are being heard on both sides of the water.

How far will they be willing to go?

If they're that determined to data mine, and the law starts targeting them, will they go so far as to use their clout to lobby or campaign for a more-permissive government?

We need to talk about mathematical backdoors in encryption algorithms

"Do we want to continue living in the shadow of this? Or do we (here in the States) wish to continue to exercise our Constitutional rights to free and unfettered speech?"

Do we even have a choice? Digging up dirt on others seems to be simple human nature. As Don Henley once sang, "People love it when you lose; they love dirty laundry."

IOW, if not the government, then someone else will find something to hold over us.

Why the Linux desktop is the best desktop

Re: re. Anyone who tells you Linux is hard to use wasn't paying attention

If you read, he already said he tried switching out cables, devices, etc. without success, yet if he uses the same cables with a much-older Windows-based laptop, it becomes literally plug-and-play. That sounds to me more like a lack of support.

Re: Linux "Desktop"

Furthermore, we can't deny there are whole ecosystems of both hardware and software that simply MUST use Windows, full stop. Something that requires Windows to run becomes a deal-breaker for many, and no, there usually aren't viable substitutes for many of them, especially if they're custom jobs.

I put it this way. Something must be compelling for so many businesses to use Microsoft Windows (to the point I see "Activate Windows" watermarks almost everywhere that they're willing to put up with its headaches over whatever headaches Linux may produce.

It's time to delete that hunter2 password from your Microsoft account, says IT giant

Re: A pain in the rear end

How about a solution for people with really bad memories. And I mean SO bad that "correct horse battery staple" doesn't work.

Re: YubiKey, et al

I've always pictured two ways this could go wrong:

- The victim is a kinky masochist and actually likes the wrench.

- The victim is a total wimp who faints at the mere sight of the wrench, meaning they can never keep him awake long enough to disclose.

114 billion transistors, one big meh. Apple's M1 Ultra wake-up call

Re: I saw the reveal presentation, and, while I'm no fanboy, I was amazed

But if there are two things I always like to have more of in any given machine, it's RAM and storage. So if a machine I obtain isn't maxed out in the RAM department, that tends to be the first thing changed to it.

So, basically, a take on Parkinson's Law, then?

Rust in peace: Memory bugs in C and C++ code cause security issues so Microsoft is considering alternatives once again

Re: eh[2]?

If drivers have to devote their minds to the actual motions of their hands and feet as they drive (think QWOP), there wouldn't be enough mental capacity left to perform the higher-level judgment calls needed to stay safe on the road, especially in emergent circumstances. There's nothing wrong with having tools to help deal with common problems so that you turn your attention to higher-level problems.

Re: Lots of people are saying "it's the coder's fault not the language"

Maybe, but I don't know of any carpenter that can do good work with a bad hammer.The tools are important, too, and can provide potentially more bang for the buck.

Rolling Rhino: A rolling-release remix of Ubuntu

Re: YALD

So when the next big thing comes along, you don't miss out. It's kind of trying to break the vicious cycle perpetuated by Windows: to decouple the OS from the software people to use and from the hardware that gets supported on them.

IMO, the OS has reached a level of maturity that perhaps it's time to put that aside, let it chug along on its own while people move on to competing in other things. But since Windows and its associated UI remains Microsoft's meal ticket, they'll be hell bent on keeping it that way. Same with Apple and it's tight integration; that's its major selling point at this point.

Re: YALD

Therein lies the fatal problem. Freedom is its own worst enemy. What you consider the ability to make your own choices is, to most people, Too Much Information. For the Joe Stupids who want to Just Get S*** Done, they want fewer choices, not more. Apple would not still be a significant player in the electronics sphere if freedom was really all that.

Intel updates ATX PSU specs, eyes PCIe 5.0 horizon

Re: 600W for a GPU?

But given how small the chip lithography is getting and how much we're still demanding of them, you're going to hit some physical limitations, at which point we're just gonna have to bear the costs, go without, or await some radical leap in computer technology (still waiting on photonics).

EU law threatening 'commercially painful changes' for tech out tonight

Re: Wrong question

Problem is, the math's changed. One-and-dones are old hat. There's no business like repeat business, simple as that. Unless you can extract every last erg from your business, someone who can will snow you under. Governments be damned, money can buy just about anything these days: even favors. If not the carrot, then the stick: the prospect of packing up and taking your tax revenues somewhere more friendly, and there will be somewhere more friendly out there, like low-overhead countries that don't care what anyone else thinks.

Unless you can change that kind of calculus on a global scale, the big boys will know how to play the long game better than you.

And the moment you try that, they'll just move out of your jurisdiction. What then?

We have redundancy, we have batteries, what could possibly go wrong?

Re: Flashlight

If you really need your hands free while using a light, try a head lamp. There are focusable varieties out there, and most have flat surfaces.

And pretty soon, it's gonna be smart phone or bust. When that happens, are you gonna go, "Stop the world! I wanna get off!"?

Re: One step too few

As long as you don't use that much of the card, yes. Thankfully, there's a Linux program (pishrink) able to shrink a Pi installation dd'd from the SD card. When restored to a new card, it automatically refills the remaining space.

Re: Aircon and networks

Bzzzzt! They'll forget the breaker was hit and scratch their heads wondering why they're not back on mains when the power comes back on steady.

Murphy strikes again...

Linux Mint Debian Edition 5 is here

Re: quis procurat ipsos procurates?

But then you have to trust the package maintainers, which has issues in itself, especially if you're working on the bleeding edge or have to work on esoteric configurations. It's also a matter of trust, since it means you have to trust that the package maintainers are doing their job and doing it right. Recall all those malicious Android apps that still somehow get into the Play Store. It's a tradeoff, thus why we can never agree on a standard; to each his own.

Take this $715,000 and find security gaps in quantum computers, says NSF

Re: It's beginning to sound familiar...

Thing is, something like a working quantum computer could be such a strategic advantage as to render it "black" my most governments, meaning no one will acknowledge it if it really exists. Thus the perceived overabundance of caution: because there's a chance a country, even the US itself, has a working quantum computer but is keeping it under wraps while happily chugging away at all the historical encrypted data that's hanging around out there.

How CAPTCHAs can cloak phishing URLs in emails

The problem becomes if the user in the latter case happens to be up top...

Re: "Given how often the average user fills out a CAPTCHA challenge..."

Can also happen if you hit a Cloudflare-backed site from anywhere strange (a VPN or TOR endpoint, someplace atypical for the site, etc.). Basically, any place that runs the risk of a DDoS, which can be more places than you think.

Germany advises citizens to uninstall Kaspersky antivirus

Re: Just don't use ANY anti-virus

Perhaps more effort should be put into trying to block unknown, novel malware that may have never been seen before, rather than have your system bogged down trying to find the same-old-same-old.

Re: Just don't use ANY anti-virus

True. Linux miscreants tend to be savvier and lean more towards privilege escalation since then it doesn't matter what user is compromised as long as A user is compromised.

Then you run into one who happens to be a gamer, or has to use custom proprietary software or hardware. Then you run into issues. And no, Proton is still not the be-all end-all for gaming compatibility just yet.

Linus Torvalds ponders limits of automation as kernel release delayed

Re: Automated Testing

Oh? There's such a thing as pushing things too far. Finding out it broke is one thing, but how do you explain to them when you come back with nothing but a few charred bits?

Just two die for: Apple reveals M1 Ultra chip in Mac Studio

Re: I like the look of it but…

That seems to be the sensible way to go these days. As long as the algorithms are similar, gradual compression through the different steps of the process should result in minimal additional artifacts versus the final compression step itself.

Re: Mac Studio

Hearing this reminds me of the Amiga and all its dizzying array of memory types: Chip RAM, Fast RAM, Slow RAM. I mean, what happened to NUMA?

Ukraine invasion: We should consider internet sanctions, says ICANN ex-CEO

Re: Huge problem

Then how do they deal with wrapper techniques like DNS over HTTPS (just saying--this is one instance where the technique has a legitimate use)?

Re: Just no

Too late. It already is. We're just circling the drain at this point.

Re: Hurts everyone equally - good and bad

And even that may not work, as Putin rose to power on an anti-corruption agenda. His top-tier people are handpicked sycophants in it up to their necks; they live and die with Putin and help keep the lower oligarchs in line. That's why there's been very little back talk.

Re: Flood them with memes!

It can backfire, though. Intentional ridicule was one way the Ku Klux Klan maintained psychological influence.

Re: Are we calling freedom “cancel culture” now?

Or it may be the day some potentate goes screw you all and starts World War III out of spite...

Re: It's over

No, Doublethink. Think Ministry of Truth. Intentional corruption of good-meaning terms so they lose their effectiveness. Worse, due to shamelessness, turnabout doesn't work on them anymore. There is already a growing contingent of people who see M.A.D. as a winning scenario. The fear is either Putin or Xi joining that group.

Deere & Co won't give out software and data needed for repairs, watchdog told

Re: Is this news?

And what's going to stop the farm equipment industry (who has deep pockets and good connections) from either lobbying or lawyering their way out of such an idea?

Re: Goods vs Services

You forget how sue-happy people are becoming. They'll find an excuse, any excuse, to blame the manufacturer and try to sue them for a bazillion dollars. Isn't the legal game of choice these days "Lawyer The Other Guy to Death"?

Re: Goods vs Services

Point being any kind of quality control is a double-edged sword. They can be used to control harmful emissions, yes, but they can also be used to protect incumbents. It's pretty difficult to avoid having the former reason be used as a cover for the latter reason.

Re: Is this news?

Your car must be older, then. The oil and air filters are fair game, as they're considered expendables. But the ECU? More are increasingly locked using black-boxed keys only held by the manufacturer. Other parts of the car increasingly ping back to the (code-signed) computer in a Protected Hardware Path way (to protect against knock-offs and all).

Re: Goods vs Services

Thing is, emissions controls will become a bigger and bigger issue as time passes. Older engines may eventually be banned as "too dirty".

Re: repairability

Or the drive computer, with proprietary code signed by a key only Deere knows (and protected by copyright) refuses to stop gimping your six figure machine until unlocked by a hardware dongle only held by cetain certified Deere employees...

If that's the case, how about a charge against them for cartel behavior, which does have legal precedent?

Startups competing with OpenAI's GPT-3 all need to solve the same problems

Re: "lack of common sense and inability to be accurate "

Which seems to indicate a lack of context is all. Just more data to feed into the system to create those associations that teacher = human.

Try something no AI could figure out that a human can do easily, even as a child in the sticks.

Then what IS intelligence, if it's not a case of knowing it when one sees it?

Throw away your Ethernet cables* because MediaTek says Wi-Fi 7 will replace them

Re: Does it go through brick walls?

If reinforced concrete is your obstacle, then you're likely facing either a structural (load-bearing) wall or a firewall. Either way, you're basically screwed either way if "around" isn't an option.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Mozilla agree on something: Make web dev lives easier

Re: Surprised nobody mentioned

The problem is that there are always edge cases. Componded by the problem that, due to the human condition, edge cases don't stay edge cases.

The zero-password future can't come soon enough

I suppose the crux of the mattercis...how do you attest something you know...when your memory is so poor you practically know NOTHING?

Everything else is basically the First Contact Problem...