Posts by Charles 9

Now that's sticker shock: Sticky labels make image-recog AI go bananas for toasters

Re: Malice not necessary

So what's missing in machines that makes humans better able to work outside the box?

"This is precisely why you don't want a "self-driving" car, by the way. Not that you can't make a self-driving car. But one that tries to be human to self-drive is a dangerous and unreliable beast."

The problem with this example is that the HUMAN is a PROVEN dangerous and unreliable beast, given the spate of traffic accidents reported in the news everyday. Not to mention the human fallibilities of fatigue, drug inducement, anger, etc. and you've just set a very low bar.

Re: The procedure

Not if the sticker is put ON the banana, thus making the end result NO banana found.

"Train a human to recognise something like a banana and they can tell you they are looking for a particular shape, size, colouration, orientation and apply those criteria using their learned knowledge of the object to identify zipped, unzipped, facing the camera or away, broken, twisted, ripe, unripe, etc. bananas."

And then you trick them with a plantain...or a carefully-sticked-back banana with something else within. We can fool humans. Machines don't stand a chance.

"This kind of "throw data at something AI" stuff is really doomed to failure, except where it really doesn't matter at all and where a human would be cheaper to employ anyway (e.g. a banana factory)."

Not necessarily. Remember that humans have continual costs and limited working hours. Why else do you think machines are replacing humans elsewhere?

Re: To be fair...

Do that and you can still confuse the system by making things that look like more or fewer items than they really are or should really be seen as a collective rather than individual items. Worse still, this kind of trickery can work on humans (think the old attached-by-transparent-thread prank), so good luck getting a machine to work out this kind of trickery.

Big shock: $700 Internet-of-Things door lock not a success

I'm still waiting for a solution that can be used by a loner with a bad memory and a tendency to lose things.

Re: $700 versus $25

"Oh, and windows are a big weakness."

Usually, if you're in a neighborhood where the windows get targeted, the windows get burglar bars installed.

Re: I'm disappointed

"You wouldn't have a computer system with a single Sysadmin password; would give different people different levels of access that can be revoked whenever that is required. What's so wrong in principle with doing the same for access to your front door?"

Simple, there will ALWAYS be a single point of failure: the root user or other ultimate user you need as a last resort in case an account gets locked out with no other way to access it (say the only user who knew the credentials suddenly died).

Re: I'm disappointed

"This is true. But you give people unattended access to your house very rarely. These sorts of things are useful in hotels, but if I saw one on a residential property then I would assume the owner is (illegally) using it as an AirBnB place. And replacing the lock is cheap compared with the cost of this, so you can afford to do that several times."

Besides, companies like Kwikset already made locks you can easily re-key, meaning you can assign temporary keys that you set to when you leave and then change back when you return.

Nvidia: Using cheap GeForce, Titan GPUs in servers? Haha, nope!

Re: Sounds like good news....

As I understand it, Bitcoin has long reached the point where you need dedicated ASICs to turn a mining profit these days, and the newer e-coins use proof-of-work algorithms that aren't GPU-friendly, meaning it's better done on the CPU instead, specifically to control this kind of exploitation.

Firefox 57's been quietly delaying tracking scripts

Re: 5 people who still care about Firefox

"How daft can a person be?"

Just look at all the Chrome and Facebook users and pine for the human race.

Re: I'm a happy user of the Yandex browser

What's happened to Mozilla is the inevitable result of trying to develop commercial-grade software while passing the hat. I've yet to see a successful FOSS project that doesn't have corporate involvement of some sort.

Re: "From the same place that allows a zillion flavours of Linux for free?"

Point is, people want stuff that costs money to make yet aren't willing to pay, and they vastly out vote you. You lack the say. Even if all the smarties defected, it's not like any of them are really going to miss us. You want to make Mozilla pay attention? Offer a big fat check or threaten their sponsors.

Look, if people REALLY want to save the Web and with it the web browser, they need to convince content providers to take HTTP back to a passive information-only protocol and move the interactive stuff to something more designed for it like VNC.

That was fast... unlike old iPhones: Apple sued for slowing down mobes

Re: Late to the party

Sounds like they're trying to dodge a suit where they could be compelled by the court to replace ALL batteries on their dime.

Re: That probably explains..

What about the S5? It's waterproof AND has a removable cover.

Re: "To provide a better experience to customers"

"On the open road you have less such risks (though as your speed is higher if something goes wrong...) So limiting the speed below highway speeds won't necessarily help anyone."

Thing is, when you need it on the highway (such as a median-jumper or something falling onto the road), YOU NEED IT!

Re: Apple Batteries

"They're no bother at all to replace. Seriously."

No, NOT serioiusly. No bother should mean "no tools necessary". You know, as in pop the lid where indicated, replace the battery, and close again. Like on my Note 4 and S5 (the latter which, BTW, also has waterproofing AND a replaceable cover, so the waterproofing argument is BS).

Yes, you should, because WHEN (not IF) that one-in-a-million device (and remember, they ACTUALLY occur nine times out of ten) goes up, there WILL be a recall notice meaning you should be turning it in for one done right for a change.

The threat of a lawsuit, recall notice, and bad press should be enough to encourage good design, but it seems cheaper these days to settle. Sounds like the penalties need changing...

"The hundreds of millions of devices with problem-free embedded LiIon cells would beg to differ with this statement."

Ever heard the phrase "One bad apple spoils the bunch"? All those millions of working devices mean squat if you happen to draw the million-to-one that explodes and burns you.

Re: "...chums water"

"chopped fish and other material thrown overboard as angling bait."

Chum is also used to attract predatory fish...like sharks (now you see why the term was used).

Re: Planned obsolescence

"Replacing the battery on a 5S is a piece of piss. Replacing the battery in my son's RC car remote is harder."

I'd like to see the picture of such a remote given every RC remote I've seen has a slide-off door you can access without tools. Even the car itself usually has a no-tools door.

Windows 10 Hello face recognition can be fooled with photos

Re: Testing?

Yes. A little something called DEADLINES. That and the fact the number of configuration combinations is simply too great to test.

No hack needed: Anonymisation beaten with a dash of SQL

Re: 'Make a law'

Unless they're trying to enforce it against a company with virtually no physical European presence with which to enforce their sovereign power...

'There has never been a right to absolute privacy' – US Deputy AG slams 'warrant-proof' crypto

I think it's too late. In order for it to be part of your person, it has to be part of your physical body, according to previous rulings. Plus things that are on the outside of the body, like fingerprints, have already been declared open season by court rulings.

Danger! High voltage: German customs bods burn half-tonne of weed in power station

Re: THC, the active ingredient

OK, back to BASIC basics. Rememeber, ALWAYS think in terms of the Stupid User. HE IS NOT YOU.

"If I take ALL the alcohol out I will have 2 solutions. 1 of 96% abv ethanol and another at 0% abv (the solutions are ethanol and water). If I then distill the remaining alcohol again, will it become stronger??"

No, but that's because you've hit the azeotrope: IOW the exception to the rule. Meaning 96% alcohol boils at the same temperature as 4% water. Distillation only goes so far, which is why we learn of such things. Most things have their limit, but as long as you're not at the azeotrope, distillation WILL produce a stronger solution of ethanol.

"A still increases the AMOUNT of alcohol NOT its strength."

Increasing the amount of alcohol while reducing its volume (the remnant still in the original container), by definition, makes the solution more concentrated: IOW, STRONGER. A solution of 80% ethanol is by definition stronger than an equal solution of 40% alcohol. It's Chemistry 150 for goodness sakes (and I took it and passed with flying colors, thank you). If this ain't research, WHAT IS?!

"10 pints of 4% abv lager contains the SAME amount of alcohol as 1 pint of 40% abv spirit / rum / brandy / whisky."

But the former is more dilute, IOW, weaker. Same alcohol, but in a larger volume.

Re: THC, the active ingredient

It IS so stronger, as the alchohol normally refers to the SOLUTION, not the actual chemical which is scientifically termed ethanol, and solutions CAN get stronger.

And yes, we normally refer to products by solution, not by chemical, which is why we normally buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and NOT H2O2 3% USP.

Re: THC, the active ingredient

It DOES SO strengthen alcohol as the process gives you a stronger (more concentrated) alcohol (which almost universally refers to the solution rather than the actual ethanol chemical) then you had when you started. That's why some distillers do it more than once: each time gets you a higher concentration.

And yes, you can only distill to about 96% as you end up at what's called the azeotrope. Basically, the boiling point of 4% water is the same at that of 96% alcohol so you can't separate them that way anymore. It's relatively easy to obtain azeotropic alcohol. Getting pure 100% alcohol takes more complicated processes.

Firefox 57: Good news? It's nippy. Bad news? It'll also trash your add-ons

Re: No Classic Theme Restorer?

"I did buy Firefox from them though."

When and at what price in cold hard cash?

"I'm a big lad. I can make decisions about my security."

But MOST CAN'T. Remember this as a tenet of the Internet: there are more Stupid Users out there than you, and they can outvote you, in hits and in wallets.

Re: Browser speed obsession

Not if it's a LOCAL script, meaning unless you run it, you're not going to see anything, and if it's the ONLY source of what you're looking for...

Beyond code PEBCAK lies KMACYOYO, PENCIL and PAFO

Re: from a prior support gig....

How many of them got RE-submitted with supervisory tags like DIE (Do It or Else) that override the above?

I thought the R stood for "recognition" as it can apply to a non-repair situation as well.

I can think of a couple myself:

- HARM (Halted Action--Restricted by Management)

- SUPER (Supervisory User--Proceed with Extreme Reluctance, for those situations where labeling someone over your head any of the above is a threat to your job security).

- ICU (Instructed to Chase Unicorns, for when you know there's no solution, but you're told by supes to find one anyway or else).

Windows Store nixed Google Chrome 'app' hours after it went live

Re: Obligatory

"When Sega tried to use a cut-down, mobile orientated Windows CE as their Dreamcast OS to try and pull in more developers, it broke them as a mass-manufacturer of hardware and nearly killed the company leaving them to transform into a software-only and IP licensing company to try and survive."

It wasn't the OS that killed the Dreamcast. First, they were previously reeling from the Saturn (which suffered from atypical 3D hardware and a clunky SDK). Second, they used CD-based media which lacks space. Because of the first, and also due to lack of media connections, they couldn't blaze the trail like Sony did and use DVDs. Technically, the Dreamcast actually had a better GPU unit than the PS2 (seen when you compared each platform's DOA2 offering and titles like Skies of Arcadia and Shenmue were really something), but all that space AND the ability to play DVD movies right at the point when they were maturing on the market meant the PS2 featured a killer twofer. Finally, a recession in Japan meant Sega lacked the wiggle room to stay in hardware.

"Other than that, the only games console that doesn't use open-source UNIX-based software appears to be Microsoft's own XBox, which is hardly a great endorsement from the gaming industry."

When it comes to consoles, the OS doesn't really matter. Otherwise, the Xbox would've been long gone, but it's still around thanks to its DirectX support. Meanwhile, like I said, the Taito Type X series is still alive and kicking in arcades and full of headliners...and still using Windows as the underlying OS.

Except you CAN'T download it from Google if you're using Windows 10 S, which is part of the problem. In 10 S, apps can ONLY come from the Store, which means if Chrome can't get on the Store, they're SOL. Which STILL begs the question. How come Google is willing to use Apple's web engine to get on iOS devices but is not willing to use the Edge engine to get on Microsoft's store? Why the different stances in two similar situations?

Yes, your old iPhone is slowing down: iOS hits brakes on CPUs as batteries wear out

Re: A good feature

Yes there is. The battery is not user-replaceable, as in you can't just pop off the cover (without tools, that's important) and change it out. This really should be required by law due to the safety risks.

Re: "Would you rather have shit battery time?" @d3vy

"It's a scandal that enormous firms like Matsushita (Lumix), Samsung and Apple refuse to police their brand names, to the detriment of their customers."

It's not that. It's that it's impossible for them to police their brand names due to the knock-offs being made in hostile nations. Really, is Samsung really going to have the ability to tell a country like China to knock it off?

Re: This

Since when? I'm wearing one and had just changed the battery on it a couple months ago (after it ran nonstop for several years). Sure, it can't be certified water-resistant anymore, but that's another matter.

Re: I wonder...

No, easy should be without need of any tools, as in it's designed to be user-replaceable.

We need to talk about mathematical backdoors in encryption algorithms

Re: Why the focus on PUBLIC and MATHEMATICAL methods?

That requires keeping a pad or the like, and the plods can simply seize the pad (by seizing EVERYTHING).

Magic Leap blows our mind with its incredible technology... that still doesn't f**king exist

Re: April 8, 2016. Honestly.

Put it this way. If everything you say were true, where's the independent verification of those facts? Heck, SOMEONE would've likely cammed the demonstration camera wearing the supposed stuff if so. Plus, if it already existed, why hasn't anyone bought it? Given its hype value, SOMEONE'S bound to have presented a blank check (or some other "offer you can't refuse") for that first prototype, meaning it would've leaked out eventually. At least we know Hololens is a work in progress. Where's Magic Leap's answer?

"Did VCR or DVD or Blu-Ray have killer apps?"

VCR let you record shows, meaning you weren't a slave to the schedule.

DVD didn't need lengthy hit-and-miss seeking plus took up less space.

Blu-ray was designed for and dovetailed nicely with HDTVs.

Ubuntu 17.10 pulled: Linux OS knackers laptop BIOSes, Intel kernel driver fingered

Re: Its serial all the way down, mate

Except ANY fallback system could itself have a security issue and can thus become the target for hackers and so on since there's no way to guarantee any program is completely bug-free. Even formal proof has a limited scope.

Re: Knoppix killed my Solarism

Temporary or permanent bricking?

Re: Can't we just get rid of UEFI?

I believe part of the reason for EFI's complexity was to try to simplify things elsewhere, trying for things like built-in OS-agnostic drivers. They probably just got a bit too ambitious.

Re: As an amateur

Then perhaps you should start taking the Apple route, at least partially, and say only such and such hardware can be certain to work and the rest are just CE-YOYO. If you can't test everything, say so and say so VERY CLEARLY so they either get it or get classed as Darwin Award candidates.

China may stick to its own DRAM memory soon – researchers

Isn't most US debt held internally, though?

Problem is, both spinning rust and memory manufacturers are starting to hit walls: physical walls, namely the fact an electron is only so big and will never change that size. IOW, they're starting to hit the point of Diminishing Returns barring some completely new branch of innovation.

Windows Update borks elderly printers in typical Patch Tuesday style

Re: backward compatibility NOT a thing with Micro-shaft

Memory can be hacked, and most drums don't have enough circumference to electrically store an entire page. Plus it's essentially a black box since you can't actually see this in action (the drum is photo-sensitive so can't be exposed to ambient light when in use).

As I recall, most secure laser printers aren't intended for copying but to produce legally-significant documents and things like checks which require special materials to protect against forgery.

European court: Let's not kid ourselves, Uber. You're a transport firm, not a 'digital service'

Re: Barcelona, Spain

But now you're into a sovereignty issue, and sovereignty by definition entails self-determination. So legalities turn gray here as the vote involves an move towards self-rule. Therefore, whether or not the government is legal or not may not be possible to conclusively say. Remember, the United States declared its own independence unilaterally and was resisted by the "legal" government of the time (the UK), yet ultimately the US gained its sovereignty. IOW, it's not a black-and-white issue here.