* Posts by Richard Jones 1

1320 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Sep 2009

ASUS baffles customer by telling them thermal pad thickness is proprietary

Richard Jones 1

Re: eh

Thanks stupid, vindictive, protectionist, Brussels morons I think your meant to say.

Singapore orders social media to correct Indian politician’s allegation of local COVID-19 variant

Richard Jones 1

Re: Not sure

It is almost a hard question to answer, though the low mental capabilities of some antisocial media users might stun those with the ability to think and understand.

While Fox lovers get a lot of odium, there are many equally wild eyed zealots of all types spread across the antisocial media swamp. It is just that some get to hit the broader publicity streams more easily in different locations and with different groups, some being very publicity seeking.

Latest phones are great at thwarting Wi-Fi tracking. Other devices, not so much – study

Richard Jones 1

My Secrets of Dog Walking Appear Safe

My elderly Moto device should worry me, However, as I wander the fields and lanes dog walking, all tracking efforts appear to result in major location errors. I doubt my mobile phone data has much value to anyone seriously into tracking data. Travelling more or less the same route in the morning produces wildly different logs of distance, speed and almost everything. I am interested in the so called 'fitness data', but I really wonder if it has any grip on reality.

Hospitals cancel outpatient appointments as Irish health service struck by ransomware

Richard Jones 1
Coat

Re: This is very serious

So no doubt Brussels and what passes for its leader, Ursula What-ever, will give the problem a stern talking to and suggest that it is barred from the EU,

Tesla Autopilot is a lot dumber than CEO Musk claims, says Cali DMV after speaking to the software's boss

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: Fully Automatic my arse!

It must love local roads round here, where the 'lane marking' are no such thing, they are just the edges outlining repairs. They may be in any location from the nearside of the lane to the offside or anywhere in the middle. I have to turn off 'lane assist' or as I call it 'distraction enhancement'.

Facebook: Nice iOS app of ours you have there, would be a shame if you had to pay for it

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Why Is Advertising So Crap

If tracking and targetted advertising is so wonderful, why do I get the most stupidly irrelevant crap shot at me all the time? Someone must be stupid enough to believe that I could want things that are no earthly use for a mid-seventies male, but their employer must be even more brain-dead to believe they are good at their job.

I spend most of my moving-time walking a dog along boundary lanes adjacent to fields, the shopping opportunities there are 'limited'. I cannot believe anyone would try web shopping while dog walking, maybe they do. Otherwise, I am at home, where mobile access is rubbish, so the mobile is unused. In any case, using the mobile for anything other than logging my walking activity or receiving a very rare text message, is an exercise in rank frustration. Advertising makes it useless - and it lacks a 24" screen.

Why does anyone use Facebook, or any other such site? I may be slightly mad, but not mad enough to photograph cups of coffee or sandwiches and post the results.

iFixit wants you to be legally able to break software locks to repair gizmos. Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are less keen

Richard Jones 1

Oh, I don't know, the land of the free to be robbed, stiffed and done down certainly

UK.gov wants mobile makers to declare death dates for their new devices from launch

Richard Jones 1

I suspect that is part of the issue being targetted. No one should want a phone that is only good for the next X months use. Why should they?

That said, my semi mobile, (it is useless for home use) is out of updates since a year or two back. I put nothing of value on the semi brick. Banking on a postage stamp screen is for the birds, not me; I want to sit at a desk to deal with such work.

Google says once third-party cookies are toast, Chrome won't help ad networks track individuals around the web

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: Targeting

At one time, if I wanted, a crosshead screwdriver, I would be offered, rubbish like 'The Hotel Cross Head Screwdriver'. At least that does not happen now.

The bane of my searches are those brain-dead 'comparison' sites that cannot offer you the damned item you want from a seller who could supply it in this lifetime. They only push the dross of their moment

Copper broadband phaseout will leave UK customers with higher bills and less choice, says comparison site

Richard Jones 1

Re: Emergeny calls

Both my router and phone system run off my UPS, which having only two very low demand systems can sustain service for many hours without the main supply. This was originally done to provide house wide DECT service during periods of critical medical care treatment in case the mains supply failed. Both internet and phone services are thus protected. The UPS battery was recently replaced by a unit 25% larger than the original due to fat finger trouble, but should extend the potential support time even further.

Facebook and Google’s Australian pay-for-news nightmare finds a European admirer

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Trying To Make Websearches Useless?

Does anyone search for news via ANY web list? I go straight to a couple of news providers, but many searches are so polluted with other items that they waste my time.

I would be happy to delist all newspapers, (really opinion sheets trying to make news) items from my web searches

If I want to buy a widget, I want a list of widget suppliers, not news about obscure widget related events.

It is already hard enough to find stuff I want to understand. When I searched out details about surgeons, they were all blanks, least I found out who killed rather than cured. The very details I wanted to know.

Japan’s COVID-19 contact-tracing app hasn't warned users of encounters with carriers since September

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Are they supposed to Work?

After she has been shielding for almost a year my wife came with me to be tested, the following day she reported positive I reported negative. Our mobiles had rarely been less than 6 feet apart for months, yet mine failed to register any sign of an issue even after my wife updated her status. It was only AFTER a contact tracer rang an hour or two following her change of status, to trace her contacts that I then received a message on my mobile.

So, contact tracing works, if only to tell me what I knew, but the application did next to nothing. Oh, it does one thing, it falls asleep and has to be reloaded.

Microsoft backs Australia’s pay-for-news plan, risks massive blowback over a lousy $3bn and change

Richard Jones 1

Re: short termist

I stopped the local paper at least 20 years back. It was aiming at a different target market. I know some local papers started vendettas against companies or groups to try to get them to spend more on advertising. Not a great idea if the target has no advertising need or budget. It simply made a boring parade of pointless complaints. We now get a local 'free-sheet' with a variety of local community content, but it cannot be all things to all people. I skim through, but rarely linger on anything.

I suspect that many people have just moved on because Parish Pump items do not hold many people's attention for long, if at all. Debates about bus shelters lost currency when the busses disappeared. We get some local advertising via leaflet drops, but most is sent straight to the recycling bin.

If I seek local news I go to the internet and search for the specific item, be it from council, county or other organs. Usually, I seek items I need to know about now, not read about tomorrow or next week, so 'chip wrappers' are no use.

Smartphones are becoming like white goods, says analyst, with users only upgrading when their handsets break

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

No Surprises

My previous mobile lasted 8 years and was only replaced in 2016 because I wanted to link it to a new car. Apart from using Bluetooth the linking has been largely ignored.

More recently I downloaded an activity application, on second thoughts about 3 years ago.

I have just realised the mobile is now about 5 years old, I barely care about OS updates since I do not use it for financial or other sensitive work.

The battery is still OK, it lasts all day, other than it is a bit slow so, just where is the replacement incentive?

Judge denies Parler an injunction to force AWS to host the antisocial network for internet outcasts

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: Not all countries are founded on socialist beliefs

No, you have a failure of understanding. I can say I do not agree you and your views. That is a fair and honest comment. I can say that I detest your views for a range of reasons. That is also a fair comment and should not raise any objection. However, if I suggest your views are so abhorrent that you should be strung from the nearest lamppost, or be put down, that is close to an incitement to criminal action. If I compound the matter by saying, 'I am too distant, someone please murder whoever', that is not an opinion, it is criminal. There is no political angle at all to a rejection of illegal activity.

Of course if it was a so-called socialist state e.g. Russia or China, etc. all views other than their Government's line are likely subject to a death treatment.

NHS COVID-19 app is trying to tell Android users something but buggy notification appears stuck on 'Loading...' screen

Richard Jones 1

Re: Google Play Services

Thank you, Steve, I had a look at 'My Data' as suggested, but it had no data except my home post code. This was not a surprise as it has never pinged up anything, and I have not been anywhere requiring or even provided with, a check in QR code. Does the software require a specific manual intervention every time you enter or leave a location? My mobile lives in a shirt pocket and at this time of year is buried beneath clothing. It takes an impractically long time to dig the darned thing out. Perhaps I misunderstood that this was an automated system, not a quill pen era throwback, did the OS makers really make it so useless?

Apologies for the wait, we're overwhelmed. Yes, this is the hospital. You need to what?! Do a software licence audit?

Richard Jones 1

Re: EE have been updating my ADSL router as well

Yes, mine was updated back in December, I have seen no impact and, but for your post would not even have checked. Hopefully, it was all security linked though if there were other issues I have seen no impacts.

Unauthorised RAC staffer harvested customer details then sold them to accident claims management company

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: These type of activity is a plague on humanity

It is not just those who had an accident who get a parasite call. I dashed to answer my wife's phone when she was unable to answer quickly when expecting a legitimate call from a known source. Instead, it was a damned parasite 'false claims company', they got no further before being told to b*gg*r off. Perhaps I should report the sods to ICO.

Everybody's time is precious, pal: Sometimes it isn't only the terminals that are dumb

Richard Jones 1
Happy

Most are Born With An A*** Hole

Sadly, most are born with one, some just are one.

US Department of Homeland Security warns American business not to use Chinese tech or let data behind the Great Firewall

Richard Jones 1

Re: Surely

Try getting that through a hypodermic. Where is the mega register or all these mythical chips all coded with the same data?

Take Note: Samsung said to be thinking about killing off Galaxy phablet series

Richard Jones 1
Happy

The Advantage of a Stylus or a Substitute

As someone with hands and fingers that touch screens delight in ignoring, does a stylus work better? I am currently forced to use a 'touch substitute' with my mobile and all other touch screens I have the misfortune to encounter.

Marketers for an Open Web ask UK competition watchdog to block launch of Google's anti-tracking Privacy Sandbox

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

I'm not a Chrome User

Since I am not a Chrome user this should not affect me directly, though I have a concern it may wash out further. I do not want to be tracked, so I happily use tools to limit that action. If people want to throw adverts at me, I am not happy but if I can suppress them or ignore them that is just about OK on my PC. What I hate are those prat-verts that take over with shouty 'messages', that have the effect of telling me to leave the damned site and never return.

I usually leave the sound off to get relief from that abuse.

I find mobile web browsing useless much of the time, with limited home reception it takes half a day to load and that is where adverts kill the point completely. Yes, I do try to use Wi-Fi when in range, but walls sometimes limit that option. Outside it would impact my data usage so the advertisers can take a long hike over a tall cliff.

US government clears debt collectors to go after Americans through their social media accounts

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Tell Errant Debt Collectors Where to Go in a Business Like Way

Ten years ago my daughter moved into a house that had been repossessed, no surprise mail for the old owner turned up and was politely marked return to sender, for about a year to 18 months this farce continued. The problem is that returned mail discards the envelope without reading the reasons. We then damaged the window and either wrote on the contents or inserted new material saying that they had gone away. We returned the tampered but otherwise 'unopened' mail to sender and eventually after a more few phone calls all settle down. I think my daughter found the new address for the defaulter and passed that on to one of the banks when they called. She explained the easy research she had done and provided a few suggestions as to how they could improve their working methods, since junk mail was treated as junk by all parties.

The revolution will not be televised because my television has been radicalised

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

What is This Recommended For You Crap?

My TV is connected, my PVR is connected, (even my DVD/Blu-ray players are connected, but rarely powered on.) I can log into a range of online providers should I chose to do so, but I have never had any recommendations thrust at me. The only exception is one 'service provider' who emails me lists of films that appear selected to be of no interest.

My biggest issue is digging my way through all the cruft that is listed in the online listings. How the heck does anyone ever find something to watch out of the crap items offered? May be if I missed something that I wanted to see, I can go and hunt for it in the catchup (ketchup?) listings that appear designed to keep items forever hidden from view. Sometimes I get a win, but rarely.

YouTube tends to have some idea of what I have watched and generally presents me with more items related to my interests, I do not want news or political airheads. Conspiracy theorists can go and do one, drink bleach, take cyanide tablets or whatever they are pushing this week, without troubling my braincells: David Icke please note.

New lawsuit: Why do Android phones mysteriously exchange 260MB a month with Google via cellular data when they're not even in use?

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: Yikes!

Halfway through the month and I have used 111mb of data with a small amount on web trawling while out, that sound about right to me. Google services are restricted to Wi-Fi. Maps used about half the mobile data consumed and a web activity about a quarter of my total so far.

Frankly, I do not see a problem. Update activity is via home Wi-Fi, home mobile reception is crap anyway.

Learn how to use the mobile.

Apple suffers setback in epic Epic Games games fight: Federal judge zaps damages counterclaim

Richard Jones 1

I do not have an account with either, but state a good reason not to be suckered in by the Apple 'system'.

Let's Encrypt warns about a third of Android devices will from next year stumble over sites that use its certs

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: Counter intuitive?

My 4-year-old mobile is hardly ever used to access anything on the web, why would I do so? A small screen that is usually overrun by crap adverts if I ever make the mistake of clicking on any sort of link. I use a few apps, but voice calling is subject to two problems, crap reception at home - 'please use my landline' and the difficulty of actually getting it to answer if I am not using a Bluetooth headset. It is OK for a few Google applications and for texts. Interactive voice calling generally defeats its capabilities.

5 months later, 37.7% of Windows 10 PCs are running the May 2020 Update... Wait, people are still on 1809?

Richard Jones 1
Happy

Re: @AC - No choice but to remain out of date

My 2008 Dell portable is currently running Windows 10 2004 without an issue. With only 3 GB of ram it might not be the fastest toy, but it runs and updates, though not yet to the current offering. It shares that fate with my 2019 Dell desktop, that has also been left in the MS winter, though with nothing worth having that offer is not very appealing, perhaps more pointless than desirable.

Touchscreen holdout? This F(x)tec Pro1 X phone with sliding QWERTY keyboard might push your buttons

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Touch Screens Ignore My Ancient Hands

The modern second rate phones are almost useless for me. A Bluetooth headset or in-car Bluetooth are the only ways calls can be answered. A prodder can sometimes start it to make a call, but answering an incoming call without an assistant, only worked once in 4 years. I thought touch must be cheap to make, but any saving is not being passed on.

Happily the wired house phone not only has service, while mobiles do not have service at home, it can be answered.

Windows 10 October 2020 Update has arrived... and so have the fixes. Plus: Fancy a discount on a Surface Duo?

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Does Windows 10 20H2 Exist? Should I Care?

My 10-month-old PC has no sight of Windows 10 20H2 and its claimed contents failed to set my pulse racing.

Yes, we have a 5G iPhone now. But that doesn't mean 5G has arrived

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Getting any G Might Feel an Improvement

Mobile service are supposed to be, well mobile, are they not. Without wired service at home and Wi-Fi the mobile is about as useful as a stone with a flat battery. Yes 4G might be interesting, if it damned well worked, but 5G is a pipe dream, simply worth nothing at all. It costs a fortune just for handsets, but works as well as said stone with a flat or even a missing battery.

Facebook is leaky, creepy, and trashy. Now it wants to host some of your customer data

Richard Jones 1

Re: Am I the only one still sane?

I agree, I possibly miss some 'news' because it is a video segment and I rapidly pass on by to the next written account. My typing is lousy, (arthritis?), but I still send and receive messages as needed. The written word hangs about until it is processed or deleted, spoken claptrap passes on by, to the sewers of a bygone age where it may meet up with Facebook's antisocial detritus.

Here's US Homeland Security collaring a suspected arsonist after asking Google for the IP addresses of folks who made a specific search

Richard Jones 1

one thing this guy really should have thought of first

Perhaps, not setting out as a career criminal and whatever else. I cannot say I have any sympathy for crooks such as him, but I wonder what other skeletons he will now have uncovered from his various closets.

ICANN begs Europe: Please fill in the blanks on this half-assed GDPR-compliant Whois we came up with

Richard Jones 1
Happy

Re: The Gordian Knot

ICANN has its home in the USA. So, the EU will need a contract to be drawn up by an EU lawyer at usual hourly rates. Drafting the agreements will then require hourly paid rates for their creation.

Once the contract is agreed, signed and the initial money changes hands, could the east side of the pond start the contracted work for the west side, ICANN crew.

Warning, as the west side crew have failed to date, the new documents will not be cheap.

Chef leaves a bad taste: Staff cut in 'horrid, bleak' week after Progress swallows DevOps darling for $220m

Richard Jones 1

Re: Don't relax

Or more graphically, We aim to suck the marrow out of the bones, then discard what is left.

Think tank warns any further delay to 5G rollout will cost the UK multiple billions – but hey, at least Huawei is out

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

What Is Mobile Communication?

I can see the buildings of London from my house, nearby roads and the nearby area, I live perhaps 8~10 miles from the M25, but using mobile communications at home is solely for the birds.

In vain, I tell callers to ring my landline, but every time a series of failing mobile calls is required to get the message across that mobile service is a crap illusion. The two words cannot live together in my home postcode

Given the horror show of software rubbish Huawei are today reported as delivering, I am not sad that they are counted out, but it is clear that the mobile network service planners are about as skilled as the Huawei software engineers, i.e. useless

Adidas now stands for All Day I'm Disconnecting All Servers as owners of 'smart' Libra scales furious over bricked kit

Richard Jones 1

Re: If it relies on the cloud

If it relies on the cloud, you will be rained on and service will be washed away.

If you do not own it you do not control it, do not rely on it, ever.

My home heating has a temperature controller thin, (thermostat to me) plus room controller things that date back to the last century. No issues at all and no clouds in sight.

Xiaomi and Samsung go head to head with new phones in bargain-basement 5G battle

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

If there was some expectation that the phone might last long enough to be usable should 5G service ever become available at a price that does not require a mortgage, there might be a point in replacing my old Motorola-by-Lenovo phone. Samsung's offering might not be built in China which would be a small plus point for me, but a 24 month life expectancy for updates, no, thank you. I will stick with the crap Motorola which is already out of OS updates and just not put anything important on its increasingly slow frame.

Pass that Brit guy with the right-hand drive: UK looking into legalising automated lane-keeping systems by 2021

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Lane Management Warning Systems Are Not Very Good

I have turned mine off as our narrow country lanes have few proper lane markings but an array of different patches and the beeping is driving me nuts as the surface keeps changing.

Feds seize 'largest ever' haul of crypto-dosh from terrorists – including coins from 'fake' pandemic mask web store

Richard Jones 1
Joke

Send The Money To the USPS

Due to actions of the terrorist in chief, the USPS is a victim of terrorism at the moment, perhaps they should get the funds?

NHS tests COVID-19 contact-tracing app that may actually work properly – EU neighbors lent a helping hand

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: "Talk of a second wave is nonsense"

I am quite enjoying the lack of competition to go out and about for no real reason. Fuel is saved, overall costs are reduced, I guess it is isolation already, it suits me fine. As for this app, one that may or may not work, may not know the difference between 2 cm, 2 metres or maybe 2 km and might not install on my 3-year-old phone. In a short phrase, no.

Publishers signed up to Apple's premium News may be less than 'appy to discover the iGiant snatching readers

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Re: The Apple New App

Do not use apple? Is that not the real choice after all?

Pen Test Partners: Boeing 747s receive critical software updates over 3.5" floppy disks

Richard Jones 1
Happy

Re: Honestly..

It could have been worse, some systems from about that time used punched tape or stacks of punched cards. Woe betide anyone who dropped the tape or cards scrambling their order, tore the tape or got either one wet. Even worse, loaded it the wrong way and chewed it up completely. Yes, it was across the water from where I lived, but I knew they did several of the punched tape sins while a system was down and out for a long outage,

Apple's at it again: Things go pear-shaped for meal planner app after iGiant opposes logo

Richard Jones 1
Joke

@AC, you made a dangerous assumption. The US trademark body is not as bright as a moron in a hurry, while they comprise sub-optimal morons they are never in a hurry, since they are part of the US government and 'led' by the moron in chief, the often termed the so-called president, 'POTUS'.

You think the UK coronavirus outbreak was bad? Just wait till winter: Study shows test-and-trace system is failing

Richard Jones 1

Re: But... but...

Not a ringing endorsement for limited and functionality on an Apple (and only sometimes). Long ago I lost interest in such unreliable silo projects. The project became a point scoring contest, unable to do anything useful. Is the Apple app still not knowing the difference between someone who is within a metre and someone who is 10 metres away? Since it only works on Apple products, should I care? I know there is another limited product for Android. It also has limitations on the age of supported devices.

I'll pass and avoid all crowd situations.

China requires gamers to reveal real names and map them to frag-tastic IDs

Richard Jones 1
Joke

Re: So I suppose ...

Oh dear, I thought that the leader of the CCP was big enough anyway?

(Isn't Pooh-bear on the banned list anyway?).

EU tries to get serious on cybercrime with first sanctions against Wannacry, NotPetya, CloudHopper crews

Richard Jones 1
Unhappy

Looks Like Too Little Far Too Late

Not only have the horses bolted, they lived their lives and became someone's lunch before this action was taken.

AI assistants work perfectly in the UK – unless you're from Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Belfast...

Richard Jones 1
FAIL

Voice Calling on an Andriod Phone Anybody?

Frankly, do not bother with voice access things ever. Nokia had it working back in about 2008, Android/Google still cannot recognise a thing that is said to it in 2020.

Is non-operative voice features a design feature?

Someone made an AI that predicted gender from email addresses, usernames. It went about as well as expected

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Was There Ever A Point?

If I want someone to do a job, (I am currently seeking to get several tasks done), that is what I need. I would not care if they were a bright green Martian (though I realise the neighbours might worry), but so what, as long as the job was done correctly.

If I am looking to buy something, it might be for me, my wife, one of my daughters, or grandchildren, or even some other relation, what I need are suitable examples of what I want, not some second rate pseudo intelligence pointing me another way. However, if I randomly think I want to buy something but I do not know what or why, then perhaps I should stop and think a bit more about what I am doing.

In short, it was a dumb, stupid pandering to silliness idea in the first place.

Modem life is rubbish: RootMetrics 5G stats show EE has widest UK coverage, but Three is the speed demon

Richard Jones 1
WTF?

Reliable 4g might have been nice

I doubt I will ever be in a position to make a useful comment on 5G. It appears an unlikely option for the foreseeable future due to the poor state of mobile service at home. The prices I saw suggest it is for others anyway. I will stick with voice and text, Wi-Fi is an option when at home when the machine updates itself. A 23 inch screened PC is a far superior experience. I am now concerned at how much IPv6 might disrupt wired service, given the situation with 5G