Posts by Richard Jones 1

Yes, Mark Zuckerberg is still pushing metaverse. Next step, language translation

Re: VR drinks?

What I did not want today was real icy cold rain, hail, thunder and lightening. I do not want any nightmare dreamed up by the second rate slug bait company, (metaldehyde-verse) either.

5G masts will be strapped to lampposts and traffic lights – once £4m project figures out who owns them

Re: Eating your equipment - DON'T

Batteries are far and away more toxic once they enter a body than almost anything else normally to hand. They can burn through internal organs within days, leading to fatal consequences, as a number of small children's parents have found. A case of look no throat or stomach, it is also incredibly painful.

APNIC: Big Tech's use of carrier-grade NAT is holding back internet innovation

Re: I've said it before and I'll say it again

Anonymous Coward, I went on IPv6 training courses some years ago. It was only slightly tarnished at that point. Time passed and I retired 20 years ago. It is 'interesting' to see that the debate has not really changed, and neither has the deployment of IPv6.

I have forgotten most of what the courses covered, and shredded and composted my notes years ago. I am probably the exception in not keeping things like Facebook open all the time, I am almost certain I am one of the few who has no dealing with Facebook, though my wife has an account, she might look once or twice a week. Perhaps I really wish I could see a useful benefit to me from IPv6, but I suspect that the number of current internet users who are happy not to have to deal with the work of any change over is large. There is no advantage to my, TVs and PVRs, having a direct IP address. I am not even sure they are IPv6 capable, anyway.

Do not get he started on the withdrawal of PSTN services, aka the ones that work at my home. I joked with an ISP person that broadband service probably suffered as I killed a few snails. I suspected they might have been delivering part of my service.

Re: That old chestnut

If there were a shortage of nails, the differing legal status of nails vs screws would become an issue. Nails are easy and cheap to make, unless you are using some fancy nailer, almost any nail source is OK. Do not forget, to the person with a hammer, everything is a potential nail.

Microsoft rolls out Files On-Demand with tighter macOS integration – but it defaults to 'on' and can't be disabled

Re: All your documents are belong to us

I encountered that, 'I can back the lot up, just watch me' attitude. After 10 days, it was not done. So, I unwound that pile of do-do idea. I back up what I want where I want it, thank you. I do use a bit of OneDrive 'magic', though my need to share stuff between systems is close to zero. It is limited to just sharing the odd document with the mobile, if or when I can be bothered. Working on a mobile is such a total pain, that it is now a rare event.

Ad blockers altering website code is not a copyright violation, German court rules

Block Axel

Perhaps the answer is to block those sites that insist on such behaviour, i.e. those from German publisher Axel Springer?

Re: Great idea

Ah, they are the websites I do not want to enter, perhaps they have some extra tacky crap for sale?

Planning for power cuts? That's strictly for the birds

Stuff Happens

In one case, the generator ran exactly as planned during every test run, except there was one small issue that was not detected. The fuel feed was for some reason fitted with a multi-way tap. This allowed the engine to draw fuel from a local header tank or the main tank. The reason for this set up escapes me at the moment. Of course, all those test runs had not exactly refilled the small header tank. When the mains power went on holiday, the backup generator kicked in, ran for a few moments before spluttering to a halt. Diesel engines do not like being run dry of fuel, so even when the problem tap setting was found, it took a while to prime the engine and restore matters.

Admins report Hyper-V and domain controller issues after first Patch Tuesday of 2022

At The Basic Level

Today after the snafu, sorry update, Firefox was not playing well, but a second restart cleared my issue. Small beer for me and compared with bigger issues elsewhere it pales into the landscape.

Do new problems count as a feature update?

After deadly 737 Max crashes, damning whistleblower report reveals sidelined engineers, scarcity of expertise, more

Perhaps it depends on who purchased the aeronautical engineer?

T-Mobile US figuring out international roaming on 5G

Re: Let's see if they figure it out before Apple do...

Given that in-car-systems mapping 'services' are almost always crap, that is a nightmare situation. The eSIM non service is not something I would buy into. I have less than zero interest in some lame streaming service. I wonder, what does the emergency calling system do if the service is not bought?

Kremlin names the internet giants it will kidnap the Russian staff of if they don't play ball in future

Re: On the Ocean Blue

Would you like to dig up a few thousand dead marsh Arabs to discuss how lovely Saddam, Kuwait's invader, was?

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

Re: Surgical Safety Checklist

Yes, I saw a Dr once, and only the once, who told me my scan showed that my pain was due to terminal kidney cancer. The problem was that I had not yet had a scan, he also told me that he was too busy to follow things up but that a colleague would see me. It was only when he paused for breath, that I was able to tell him my scan was booked for the following week. I also pointed out that he might need to check the name on the patient's record... It was not clear if he was concerned about trying to scare me, or about breaking the other patient's confidentiality.

Another brick in the (kitchen) wall: Users report frozen 1st generation Google Home Hubs

Mine are only from the 1990s, but I updated my office light switch from night sleeping to early morning awake with lights on. Then, when the sun rose, I again updated to normal daylight and the lights went off. Judging by the house temperature and the fact that my wife is comfortable, the thermostat is doing all that is needed to maintain comfort. So far both devices, and a number of other similar examples, have provided almost 30 years of round the clock service, so have our fingers. As a result, everyone is happy, except perhaps the dog, who now wants their evening walk at 13:30 hours.

Zuckerberg wants to create a make-believe world in which you can hide from all the damage Facebook has done

Slug Poison? (Meta Used for Years to Kill Slugs)

Meta was the short name for a substance used to catch or more accurately poison slugs, To give its full name, Metaldehyde.

Naming an unpleasant, human mind destroying product, 'Slug Poison', sums up Zuckerberg perfectly.

Nobody cares about DAB radio – so let's force it onto smart speakers, suggests UK govt review

Two DAB Radios Suffered Early Death

We had two DAB radios, both recently failed.

I was shocked to find after five years of ownership, that the car radio has DAB, one day I might try it, though the main reason for turning the unit on, is to enable hands-free mobile response for urgent calls. The radio is normally muted unless I am alone, though I might listen to FM for traffic information or rarely to a non-commercial radio station.

If a 'SMART speaker' works as well as a smart mobile, I know why I have never bothered with one.

I'm diabetic. I'd rather risk my shared health data being stolen than a double amputation

Re: Respectfully

Again with resect, my wife has serious issues with cancer(s) that may, or may not, be treatable. Our daughters, both, have rare blood disorders.

Okay, we are perhaps not typical as a family.

The insurance company's agreement is specious. Apply for any form of insurance with a life or health element, and you will be asked to self incriminate yourself by declaring all known health conditions. I would sling our data forward for medical analysis in a heartbeat. I know it will probably not help us, but someone somewhere may one day unlock the secrets to treatments for these conditions, if, and only if research can proceed and not be blocked by largely false arguments about insurance.

Has anyone read the stories of insurance companies investigating and rejecting claims because material fact were withheld? The results are not pretty, make a claim, and you will be investigated and must give the company full access to your records or no payout - you may well get no payout anyway if you have been hiding something.

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou admits lying about Iran deal, gets to go home

Re: Concerning

Yes, China and all of its ransom and hostage taking friends will be laughing their heads off. Now they know, do something the rest of the world does not like, do not worry. All it will take is a few hostages, and you will be fine.

Best not to travel or have anything to do with China and its corrupt quisling friends

Google experiments with user-choice-defying Android search box

Mobile Web Serches?

Life is too short to use a mobile to search the web. All I ever got was stupid adverts, often apparently for pointless, noisy games that had to be shut down. Better to use a PC set up to avoid such issues. Good luck to those who have the skill and devotion to find a way to make mobiles useful for searches.

3.4 billion people live within range of a mobile network but lack a device to make the connection

Re: The fundamental problem

There are likely too few reports, papers and searches directed at the rest of the world's shortage situations to rank the living on $2 per day in the rest of the world, that highly. There is also the issue that some governments would be unable to care less about the fate of their people as long as they and their armed guards are OK. In practice, mobile usage and take up improves communities and increases the viability of the service provider's network, if enough marginal users can get access to even basic devices. They do not need antisocial networking, they need access to local produce pricing to sell in the best daily markets. Swathes of Africa have shown the benefit. It is a process slow in the building, but hugely valuable in the achievement. Vodafone has some experience in such locations and no doubt this colours their belief that users need a cost-effective 4G phone rather than a higher cost example that requires more charging, probably from the 'pooled' community solar charger.

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

Re: password and oldies

In my mid-seventies, I do not consider I'm an oldie, but you earned an up vote for simple common sense. My wife is seriously ill, looking after her and a disabled daughter's affairs is close to a nightmare anyway. There is no need to make my nightmares worse.

Or Just Work Where No Mobile Service Works

The reason for not opting in appears above, juggling with my phone is a total pain in the behind and jumping through other hoops is for the birds, not for me, thank you.

Technology doesn’t widen the education divide. People do that

Re: "what we do with it is our fault"

What an excellent comment, one that explains how miss-applied intentions damage rather than enhance learning. I never got on with languages, in part because they were, to me, a series of meaningless black boxes, that changed according to some arbitrary rules. Physics, chemistry and maths moved things and did things in my day, linking cause and effect. Education needs the right tools available to a teacher with the right skill sets to choose the right tool for each objective they need to cover.

BT Wholesale wants the channel to give SMBs a nudge before copper sunset in 2025

Was That My Home You Wrote About?

Near zero mobile connectivity, check.

Uncertain other connections other than pseudo fibre, reality some wire or wires strung together to a cabinet, check.

User none the wiser as to what when or whether other than 'not known yet governor' from the network provider, check.

I can see the buildings of central London from my local roads, so hardly out in the bush.

World to make 1.37 billion smartphones in 2021 says IDC – about one for every six humans

Re: Computer says no

Up voted for your Winnie the Pooh and his comrades reference. My wife and daughter are pleased with their Samsung phones, my Winnie the Pooh and his comrades, Motorola special is much older, but I see no reason to change as it still sort of works. Though for part of my morning dog walk it thought I was cycling...

Please A 5G, or Even 4G Mast To Allow Data Receiption?

Unless I use the home Wi-Fi, I have next to no 'any G' reception at home. Voice either comes via the wired phone or a text message saying a call failed.

What the heck use would a 5G phone be?

Leaked Guntrader firearms data file shared. Worst case scenario? Criminals plot UK gun owners' home addresses in Google Earth

Re: "British Association for Shooting and Conservation"

Neglecting wood craft has seen some magnificent fires recently. Conservation requires more than sitting back and watching while the fires burn.

If, of course, you want to go back to the state of the country well before say 10,000 BC. You might just find it a less favourable location than your home at the moment. Many of the present 'natural' species might struggle far more than they do at the moment. Perhaps the likes of aurochs would like the land, I am not sure which other species that have adapted more recently would do so well.

Oh the humanity: McDonald's out of milkshakes across Great Britain

Re: A number of sound decisions?

Stop smoking whatever give you nightmares. Portugal at 67% fully vaccinated is well behind the UK. We have no shortages of vaccine shots. There are shortages of younger arms into which to put them, thanks to the EU parasites such as Macron the micron, the quasi useless, casting doubts about the vaccine effectiveness. We now plan boosters, and not at the delayed, but inflated prices, of the EU's faulty non-deal.

Re: A number of sound decisions?

What is the reason for a driver shortage in the USA then?

China passes half a billion 5G subscriptions and adds at least 190k new 5G base stations in six months

5G?, Decent 4G and Voice Would be nice In Hertfordshire

If EE are reading/watching or listening, having some decent 4g would be nice, not to mention decent Broadband speeds, having 16Mbps in Hertfordshire is so 1990s.

Trust Facebook to find a way to make video conferencing more miserable and tedious

Illusionary Crap for the Delusional?

For some reason, I kept reading Horizon Workrooms as Horizon Wormrooms, need I say more?

Huawei stole our tech and created a 'backdoor' to spy on Pakistan, claims IT biz

Re: OK we don't have the details...

The mirror idea was how I read the situation. It is certainly a great way to data mine the dataset without being detected.

Russian Arm SoC now shipping in Russian PCs running Russian Linux

Re: Interesting question ...

Upvoted more for comedy effort than anything else, I am not sure Teams runs that well on Windows 3.1...

Sueball over breach of more than 5 million payment cards at Dixons Carphone hit for six

Makes Cash Payments Sound Superior

At least with cash, there is nothing for a crook to hold against the unfortunate customer. Only the careless merchant suffers, which in the case of DSG makes it something of a rare case. Usually, it is the customer who suffers after dealing with them.

Giant Tesla battery providing explosion in renewable energy – not as intended

Re: Smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

Sun energy is catch and use it or lose it.

A fresh lot might arrive when/if the sun shines tomorrow, but nothing is certain, except it is not renewed. Energy is being radiated all the time by manipulating matter in the nuclear furnace we call the sun

BOFH: You say goodbye and I say halon

I worked in a new building with halon in the equipment rooms. It fired off once, causing great alarm but no harm.

A fire in the storage area, used to hold materials during the final phase of construction, was more dramatic.

A spare Halon bottle cooked in the fire, it vented, travelling about 100 yards through the air and into someone's bedroom via the wall.

The accident investigators were not amused when told that the cylinder was a fire extinguisher. The clerk of works was arrested until delicate negotiations secured a truce

Journo who went to prison for 2 years for breaking US cyber-security law is jailed again

Re: What an idiot, if true.

While I am no fanboy of apple products, or any other devices, it is not possession that matters, it is how you use the device. Keeping a blood stained hammer is not smart if there is a chance you could be in the frame for a murder. So it is with devices, leave a lovely audit trail on the shiny or matt device you appear to be stupid. In this case, he appears to have a history of poorly thought out and hard to justify actions. Biting someone who gives you a second chance, that is stupid. Keep him away from all areas of other people's lives.

Cyberlaw experts: Take back control. No, we're not talking about Brexit. It's Automated Lane Keeping Systems

I Have A Lane Awareness System

My car sounds a buzzer if it suspects a lane drift. However, the local roads have been extensively patched, often with 3 inch wide bands of patching. These patches are read as lane markers, constantly triggering warnings until it is disabled.

Lane checking has marginal value on well-maintained motorways, but where are they to be found?

Openreach to UK businesses: Switch is about to hit the fan. Prepare for withdrawal of the copper-based phone network now or risk disruption

Re: The future is coming

Great idea apart from one aspect. What is GSM connectivity? Will it be able to send out smoke signals? Or use the gas pipe of the electrical cables? Radio access is not reliable everywhere, and frequently not even possible in many locations.

UK artists seek 'luvvie levy' on new gadgets to make up for all the media that consumers access online

Another VD TX, (Value Deduction Tax)

Who else besides the luvvies would think up a VD tax? I have nothing produced by them on my devices, though I do have some self-created images from the last 50 plus years, Can I tax the damned luvvies? To recover the cost of film and digital cards used more recently.

Another daft, no make that obnoxious idea for file thirteen.

Happy with your existing Windows 10 setup? Good, because Windows 11 could turn its nose up at your CPU

Re: Another option:

I have three family desktops, all 10 years old running Windows 10, I have one 13-year-old laptop running Windows 10 and one 9-year-old laptop running Windows 10. There is one newish desktop that is said to be capable of running 11 and one other new touch screen laptop, the user prefers their 10-year-old desktop.

Windows 11 appears to show a desire to reduce the popularity of Windows, the reviews suggest an OS way out of line with many user needs. Reviews suggested it is designed for touch screens, or is it designed not to touch user needs.

Green MSP calls on Scottish government to stop spending £4.7m a year with AWS after Amazon 'dumping' allegations

Re: "we do not send items to landfill in the UK"

How much was from third party sellers, was found to be unsafe, be in breach of copyright, or subject to other no-sale, no-distribute, restrictions?

Gov.UK taskforce publishes post-Brexit wish-list: 'TIGRR' pounces on GDPR, metric measures

Re: the partial return of imperial measures

So, are you also buying your groceries in 453gm quantities?

For some activities, I used metric, for others, I was buying groceries in Lbs, ounces, pints and so on.

I understood metric was originally based on the wrong measurement from Paris to the North Pole. It was then subdivided to make it more user-friendly, a gift from some Napoleon or another.

Perhaps I had a skills training from an earlier age. As a five-year-old, I bought groceries using shillings, pence half pence and farthings and had no problem with imperial measures. The ration coupons were a small extra challenge, but hay-ho challenges are to be accepted, not dodged.

British Medical Association calls for clarity on patient deadline for opting out of NHS Digital's GP data grab

GP's Bundle Arrived Today

I received the guff from the GP to my mobile. The documents are totally unreadable on a mobile screen.

In fairness, (and I hate being fair) it is also available on their website, in mind-numbing detail.

At least it might solve my insomnia.

On second thoughts, I gave up and will try to get what is left of my life.

Linus Torvalds tells kernel list poster to 'SHUT THE HELL UP' for saying COVID-19 vaccines create 'new humanoid race'

Re: A new human race indeed

I wish my mobile was upgradable to working when at home.

Re: Tricky to do that with people.

You care home suggestion will not work, they do not reproduce any more anyway.

That Should Be Farming Investments

@ Logiker72 Bill is one of the major investors in farming in the USA. He realises that having people who are still eating drinking and eating is better than piles of rotting, bloated corpses that will not need feeding.

EE and Three mobe mast surveyors might 'upload some virus' to London Tube control centre, TfL told judge

A better excuse would have been that there was some aspect of the roof, e.g. constructional weakness, that would preclude any load increasing work to be carried out, or that running a transmitter close to the TFL equipment might be hazardous. Both are suspect suggestions.

Does TFL, (does it stand for Tragically Failing London?) even own the building?

No doubt the QC was paid good appeared money for their dubious comedy show.

Remember Anonymous? It/they might be back, and it/they are angry with Elon Musk

You Do Not The USA for Need Long Distance Drives

I sometimes have to drive 400 mile round trips in a day in the UK. Long stops eat into daylight at certain times of the year. Some brief toilet 'pit-stops', or maybe a grab and go sandwich are all the time budget allows. Since my non-EV will do over 600 miles per tank, a 400 plus mile range EV (including using the A/C, lights or heater as needed), would be the only workable replacement. No EV gains a usable range with a 5 minute top-up.

Home Office slams PNC tech team: 'Inadequate testing' of new code contributed to loss of 413,000 records

Re: The computer says no

I suspect that removal of records was the easy part, removing only the records that should be removed appears to have been the hard part. Generally wiping stuff is easier than correctly managing wipes or storage, now where did I put my hammers, marked for use on active storage and for use on back-up storage?