Posts by Tim Roberts 1

Astronomers spot exomoon candidate that's almost as massive as Jupiter

Here's the ESO site link

https://www.eso.org/public/unitedkingdom/news/eso2610/

Those spared latest Meta job cuts forcibly reassigned to AI roles

Meta AI - what a wonderful system!

Ahhh Meta AI - what a wonderful system. NOT!

I and several other people I know have been permanently banned from FB because of alleged non compliance with their rules.

In my case it was posting a link to various photos of what is happening in Gaza (I think)

Why do I say "I think" because I did do that and some people I know were not very happy, and I imagine that my post was complained about. There was no way for me to appeal or even delete whatever the offending post because I was not told what the issue was and there is no person or email to contact to get more info.

Not only was I banned but EVERY post on every page I was a member/moderator/owner of for the last 15 years was deleted - this was confirmed by a friend whose astronomy site I was a frequent contributor to. This could easily be described as an over-reaction imo.

I'd have to be paid a lot to have anything to do with meta again. F-off like you made me do!

DIY mystery box will wow your friends by hinting at what the ionosphere is up to

Re: Beacons

Yeah, but strange as it may seem, some people like to build stuff .....

Microsoft's turned Windows into a cesspool, but it wants to do better

I sometimes wonder if MS reads comments like the ones above and thinks "maybe we can do better"

OR:

- stfu you bunch of whining a holes.

- we're the best and we know it

- we could do better but hey stuff it

- we have the dominant market share so don't need to do anything

etc, etc

Phone users know when to hold ’em, delay upgrades amid inflation

And, some of us old codgers don't want - or need - an "all in one".

I still prefer to use my canon DSLR for photography, my card for purchases and my fingers to control my coffee machine.

Let alone not needing to use a phone more than a few times a week for actual calls.

Having said that I have no desire to go back to a wired home phone.

Microsoft Copilot now boarding your health information

That'll be a big fat no from me macrosloth - attached to my erect middle finger.

Microsoft 365 confirms new premium tier, stuffed with AI and few discounts

An honest question, so bear with me.

When people/orgs update to these new software incarnations, do they really provide anything that is wanted or needed, or do people just adapt to the new stuff and then use it because it's there?

I have to admit I'm a minimalist and just use software that does the job, rather than looking for the latest and greatest. Nor am I a subscriber, just a user and financial supporter where I can be.

Microsoft's next Windows 11 update is more 'enablement' than upgrade

So, will I be able to uninstall or at least disable the re-installed crap that I have spent time deleting after the last update?

Better still I want to tell MS to permanently eff-off when they have "updates" until I read about one I need..

I really do not appreciate unwanted "updates" just because I have re-started my laptop.

Yes, I'm a grumpy old bastard who uses win11 at work because I have to.

Windows 11 migration heats up... on desktops

Agree completely.

I have both - win 10 laptop that runs my ham radio station, win 10 desktop for home and a win 11 laptop for work.

11 offers me nothing that 10 doesn't already do for what I need.

Short-lived bling, dumb smart things, and more: The worst in show from CES 2025

Re: A "smart" ring

mmm

I've had my smart ring for 67 years, and all I need to do each day is eat a couple of good meals, and it continues to function very well.

The occasional banana and tub of yoghurt doesn't seem to bother it either - and neither does a few beers each day.

Guide for the perplexed – Google is no longer the best search engine

Can't use a VPN?....

Don't allow me to use a VPN?

See you later perplexity. The big G may not be perfect, but hey there are good reasons for a VPN.

Win a slice of XP cheese if you tell us where Microsoft should put Copilot next

Said MS "please help us to know"

"just where copilot should go"

I said "have some fun"

"stick it right up your bum"

"just lose it - we don't want to know"

Microsoft flashes Win10 users with more full-screen ads for Windows 11

I'll be honest and say that I've never seriously used Linux either, but have a win 10 pc at home and a win 11 laptop for work.

Why win and not Linux? My extracurricular interests and photography and ham radio, and while there are good Linux apps out there for both, imo those for win are better.

Having said that, win 11 does nothing extra for me than win 10 - I just bought it because that was all that was available at the time of purchase. As you say, the GUI is an effing mess, and quite frankly I don't like the intrusion into my private life by automatic uploads of my data to their "safe storage", with no uncomplicated way to turn it off.

Andrew Tate's site ransacked, subscriber data stolen

Perhaps Tate is here on El Reg, and doesn't like being exposed - yet again - as a c-nut.

The end is in sight for Windows 10, but Microsoft keeps pushing out fixes

no advantage in win 11 over 10 for me

As a basic home user, I see no advantage in win 11 over win 10.

I have 10 on my non upgradable home PC, and 11 on the laptop that I use when I'm out of the house.

Win 11 offers me nothing that I can't already do on 10.

Stargazing with the Beaverlab Finder TW2

There are definitely better astro photography devices out there, but as several people have noted, a telescope with an equatorial drive is virtually essential for planetary photos.

If you are just after "sky" photos, ie nebulae, constellations, sky timelapses etc., cameras such as the Dwarf2 and the upcoming Dwarf3 are very good - and there are others that I'm not very familiar with.

Forum site "Cloudy Nights" is a good place to start to get advice.

Re: "small adjustments to view distant objects are very difficult"

From experience, I'd say that most photo twitchers are like me

- big lens, perhaps a teleconverter,

- handheld in many cases

- hundreds of shots per day

- choose the best shot and process

Meta accused of trying to discredit ad researchers

It's not only ads...

I was warned by farcebook of potential blocking when I posted to an astronomy page - which I'm an admin of - a local light pollution map for an upcoming stargazing evening.

The reason?

Because it might mislead people who see it!

Having said that, FB is a useful get-together resource for user groups, as long as there is a moderator who is on the ball and willing to deal with crap.

Has Windows 11 really lost marketshare to Windows 10?

I'm very much an end user now that I'm semi-retired.

Back in my days as a teacher I had to log into the school network to do my stuff, and that had particular requirements of course.

So, my main computer now is win 10 - built for me by the grandson of one of my friends a few years ago. Very happy with it, and use duckduckgo as my browser, thunderbird for email, and am pretty anal about security and regular backups.

I mainly use it for my two interests, ham radio and photography - plus email and general browsing

On the other hand I bought a new lenovo laptop for the odd days I do relief at schools, and it has win 11.

Frankly I cannot see any advantage to win 11 at all. Even after turning off all the "extras" it can be very irritating.

I keep it installed because I don't use the machine for any important stuff, and my internet connection is vis a Ryoko wifi unit.

Apple redecorates its iPhone prison to appease Europe

I'll probably be hammered from both sides for this but here goes.

I was a relatively early user of macs, with the encouragement of my Dad, owning a Mac Plus back in the day..

Over the years, in several iterations I graduated up to a Power PC G5 in about 2005.

This machine served me well. and eventually died a natural death. In 2019, I went over to PC, mainly on a cost/benefit basis, but also because the "closed shop" was starting to irritate me for the software I was interested in.

I have never owned an iPhone, and never will as I'm a very basic user - just for calls when I need to, so a cheap android one does me well.

The software for my win10 PC is serving me well in my interests of ham radio, electronics and photography. Stand alone, single purchase software for these is imho vastly better than what was available for my old mac.

Will I be upgrading to win11 anytime soon? Not on your nelly! I have it on a work laptop and frankly it's a piece of crap.

Microsoft touts migration to Windows 11 as painless, though wallets may disagree

I have a w10 PC at home that is not compatible with w11.

I also have a w11 laptop that I use for work.

Frankly, if I thought it was worth the effort and cost, I'd change the laptop to w10.

Imo, w11 is a pain in the arse - it does nothing for my "productivity" and offers little to nil in "must have's"

As for edge .... Jeeze, don't get me started.....

HP customers claim firmware update rendered third-party ink verboten

Re: Obsession with colour printing is the problem

Yes, same with my Brother MFC-8460, purchased a long time because it also has a scanner.

Don't do a lot of printing now, but did heaps when I was still working as a teacher.

Paper roller jammed a month or so ago, but a good clean and printer head was all that was needed.

My wife occasionally uses an inkjet to print photos/designs onto fabric for various quilting projects, but otherwise, laser rules in our house.

'Return to Office' declared dead

This article is worth a read. Obviously about Australian WFH, but applies elsewhere I imagine.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-27/work-from-home-employees-incurring-more-costs/103155246

Take Windows 11... please. Leaks confirm low numbers for Microsoft's latest OS

I don't claim to be any sort of Windows expert as I've only migrated over from mac's in the last 2 years - mainly a cost/benefit exercise if anyone cares.

So, my home PC runs win 10, and I'm gradually getting the hang of how to do things, and am able to work out all issues given a bit of time. When I do system updates, I get told that win 11 won't work on it.

My work laptop ( I own it but take it to work each day) is win 11. Really I see no advantage in win 11 for what I do.

Some text - I use Libre office, some internet - I use duckducgo, some email - I use thunderbird, some PDF, I use adobe, some photos - I use various bits of software depending on what I'm trying to do, but happy to use GIMP, some audio/video - I use Audacity and VLC.

Yeah yeah, I'm a boring old fart but win 11 is just not worth the upgrade effort for my home pc, and won't be unless it dies in the arse and I'm forced to upgrade.

Point is, I suspect I'm not alone.

Not even the ghost of obsolescence can coerce users onto Windows 11

I don't count myself as an expert by any measure, but I do have a win 10 desktop for home and a win 11 laptop for work - yeah yeah the old one died, and was not worth repairing.

I see absolutely no advantage to upgrading my 10 machine, and will resist the temptation until something that cannot be replace finally bites the dust. No, I'm not a fan of win 11.

Teen who texted boyfriend to kill himself gets 15 months jail

Re: She should have got 15 years

Yep, the word "fuckwit" comes to mind ...... she might was well have done the deed.

Michael Dell? More like Michael in-Dell-nial: No public cloud, no future

Michael who??

Who is Michael Dell? ...... for that matter who/what is Dell?

Oz consumer watchdog: 'up to' speeds shouldn't be in broadband ads

with apologies to Monty Python

" ..... up to clearly includes the number zero ...." (or some such in a skit about pills that allow one to sleep with up to 1000 women per week)

ExoMars update: Schiaparelli probe's parachute malfunctioned

I'll post before the detractors

Even getting there is an amazing achievement, so I hope the coulda/shoulda/woulda naysayers out there really have a good look at what was achieved compared to what was not achieved. There is nothing here on earth that is comparable to a mission to mars - no not even a mission to the ocean depths as there will be a cable to pull you back up.

Getting to mars is a success, not landing is a disappointment.

nbn™ says nobody needs gigabit internet, trumpets XG-Fast at 8Gbps anyway

nice to see ....

that NBN (Telstra in another coat) is deciding who needs what - the reality is that the current LNP government hobbled the NBN for political purposes ( note I did not say political gain, as I believe there will be none for them).

Thanks Scabbot, Turdball et.al. for sending Aus down an inferior internet path. No I won't be fucking voting for you in the future.

User couldn't open documents or turn on PC, still asked for reference as IT expert

Re: Bad references

I Kenya a few decades ago they used to say

"This man has done me well, I hope he does you too"

(at least according to my Dad who worked there in the late 50's and early 60's)

Why XPoint SSDs won't meet original speed claims: A guide

"The horizontal access ...."

Last time I taught this stuff it was called an axis.... Oh well I must be getting old or not keeping up with new terminology (or both)

nbn™ switches on first Telstra HFC-powered broadband services

To quote (probably badly ) Monty Python "...as long as you realise that up-to clearly includes the number zero"

IIRC this was from a skit about some treatment that would allow one to "sleep with up to 300 women per day" or somesuch.

French authorities raid Google's Paris HQ over tax allegations

this is the essence ...

of international tax dodging by multinatiobnals. And I point no finger at Google because they are not alone.

Dick limps towards inglorious end: Gadget retailer on the brink

Re: It's a sad end

I was about to write a similar comment but you beat me to it. Nicely written by the way.

No, drone owners – all our base are belong to US, thunders military

this one looks good - silent as well

http://www.engadget.com/2015/10/14/anti-drone-rifle-shoots-down-uavs-with-radio-waves/

Australian test finds robot essay assessors on par with human teachers

Re: @James51 and originality

Quite! NAPLAN is a scam if for no other reason is that it purports to assess something that doesn't exist.

Until we get the National Curriculum properly underway - something I support by the way - NAPALM (deliberate miss-spelling) is a waste of taxpayer money.

Few parents realise that they can pull their children out of the test, and I believe that is an option for schools as well. If I still had school aged children they definitely would not be sitting the test.

The stress it causes some children at the school where I work is terrible.

Now we know why Philae phouled up comet landing

to all the naysayers ....

Yes, the original mission did not go as planned - hey we are talking an extremely hostile environment in space.

The mission in my estimation was a success - but of course there will be the obese lounge lizard with a drone who coulda' - woulda' - shoulda' done it better if he'd been asked.

This kind of mission was the stuff of dreams in my boyhood and I'm stoked that I've been alive to see it happen.

Cut the mission operators some slack and if you think you can do better/cheaper then give Kickstarter a try!

As my old Dad would have said - " Well done that man"

My 2c worth - keep the change naysayers.

Volvo eyes kangaroo detection tech

Roos

Several commentators have mentioned some of the issues here:

- The most critical time is at dusk when your own driving vision is close to it's worst

- some people believe that they hop into the road because headlights give them an illuminated path

- Red kangaroos - the biggest? - weigh in at close to 100kg ~ 200lb

- many can hop at over 25kph ~14mph and for short distances at 70kph ~ 45mph

- they can hop sideways as part of their path

- they seem to appear out of nowhere, so good luck with detecting something off to the side and deciding that it will hop in front of the car.

Oh and yes, Wombats can also be a problem despite their stature - in a previous life I drove small buses and hit a wombat one evening. The bus was un-driveable - buggered the steering and the wombat didn't make it either. Mostly however, wombats are significantly less common that roos.

Good news: Adobe bangs out Flash patch fast. Bad news: Google's defenses were useless

Whaaaat? Geeze Beeb get yourselves into the real world.

Aircon biz fined $1.3m after boss set up attack websites slamming critical punters

good

Couldn't have happened to a nicer cunch of bunts.

Mars water discovery is a liberal-muslim plot, cry moist conspiracy theorists

Re: Just goes to show

Professor Tim... I like that, thanks! I wear that as a badge of success! Perhaps I should start my own poorly informed, uneducated, reactionary and shitty online blog to showt the evil, left wing, antichrist, anti-gun, degenerate, homo, lesbo, pinko, greenie hordes that I really mean business!

Just goes to show

Stupidity is alive and well

Woman makes app that lets people rate and review you, Yelp-style. Now SHE'S upset people are 'reviewing' her

only one suitable comment

you reap what you sow

NBN fibre-to-the-node launched: Now the long sprint begins

Re: Fibre like speeds.....

Quite. We live at near the distance limit for ADSL, from the nearest exchange. It that is going to be our node then NBN is a waste of time, and will deliver no significant speed upgrade.

Ahmed's clock wasn't a bomb, but it blew up the 'net and Zuckerberg, Obama want to meet him

just a question

Is a kid who really made a bomb likely to show it to his teacher? The second teacher, the school and the police have just shown themselves up to be a bunch of idiots.

Bloke called Rod struck by lightning for second time

deserves a limerick

An unlucky fellow named Rod

thought he'd been punished by God

struck by lightning twice

is not really nice

but at least he's a cheerful sod

Mum fails to nuke killer spider nest from orbit

I wonder if Laura is also known as Ida (sorry)

A west Yorkshire lass name of Ida

was terrible 'fraid of the spider

in the 'nanas some seen

made miss Ida scream

at the thought of a spider inside 'er

Sun like it hot: Philae comet probe wakes up, phones home again

a botched landing?

That's pretty harsh from someone who has probably only ever tried to park a car.