Posts by TRT

Lloyds Banking Group claims Microsoft Copilot saves staff 46 minutes a day

Did Copilot help them draft their policy on AI?

AWS admits more bits of its cloud broke as it recovered from DynamoDB debacle

It's on somebody's prem.

“Over time we reduced throttling of operations and worked in parallel to resolve network connectivity issues until the services fully recovered. By 3:01 PM, all AWS services returned to normal operations, meaning problems persisted for over a dozen hours after resolution of the DynamoDB debacle."

Is that East Coast time?

Amazon brain drain finally sent AWS down the spout

Re: Linkage

If there was it would be evidence of a direct and deliberate action of a disgruntled employee, i.e. well-poisoning. How could there be evidence in abstentia that the situation could have been avoided, contained or more immediately fixed? The ONLY way that could happen is if the eventual fix came from phoning up or getting tipped off by a former employee.

It tried, but it couldn't get access to the database of service connectors and dependencies.

Very disproportionate...

I'd have expected a lot worse TBH. It was disproportionately limited!

Major AWS outage across US-East region breaks half the internet

Re: Took your time

Single point of failure again. This time in the implementation of Latex.

Re: “breakfast or Earl Grey?”

Real IT people don't have a SPOF like that.

Hybrid teas. That's more dependable.

Qualcomm in the dock over 'patent tax' on smartphones

On the plus side, it has spurred tech giants to start designing and fabricating their own silicon. The question comes down to how much control over a "standard" can a single company or cartel exert? Does that extend into hamstringing competition? Mind you, aren't all tech giants guilty of that in some form or another? App Stores and so forth?

Microsoft agrees to 11th hour Win 10 end of life concessions

Anything with Windows on is likely to be a lemon.

Sh. Don't tell anyone but you can still find Win 3.11 interfaces even in Windows 11.

UK to roll out mandatory digital ID for right to work by 2029

Re: I look forward to the leadership contest

It will be required for every one over 18. Just as they lower the voting age to 16.

That's the sticking point. In order to give it the functionality desired, one would be required to share access to your digital ID, presumably locked by biometrics. Just flashing a phone screen in front of someone to show them your fizzog and a couple of green ticks is too easily faked with photoshop or something.

So the live look up of BOTH parties will be logged and recorded along with the response and other metadata like location, timestamps, networks used, device IDs etc all to be secured in a blockchain or something. A man-in-the-middle app might perhaps change the appearance of the response graphic, so the API for the app will be strictly locked if one exists at all (thank God for that consideration of expanded functionality versus ability to fake something)

So in order for it to add anything to the existing way of doing things, Alice would have to check Bob's details using Alice's trusted device by supplying a token that Bob has given her; Charlie at the government end would have to understand the tokens from both Alice and Bob in order to supply a response, logging the incoming and outgoing information forensically. And of course the app would embed some biometric data into the tokens no doubt, otherwise cousin Victor who resembles Bob an awful lot could just lend Bob their unlocked phone.

Now, given this wealth of information centralised, the authorities would no longer have to leave the office to grub around in the filing cabinet of a company to get that smudgy photocopy of someone's passport and work visa they got two years ago.

Next step, how to enforce, say, the limit of 20 hours a week on student work visas. Instead of an annual return of an employee's pay summary with NI and tax deductions etc, expect weekly or monthly submissions of exactly how many hours were worked.

Creep. The thin end of the wedge has already passed. All of this, of course WAS in the manifesto - that bit where they promised to cut red tape for business? The mandatory checks can now be done in seconds instead of a few weeks in the case of a DBS check. It's not what you thought of when you read that phrase, but who thought "simplifying the tax system" meant cutting the 90% rate and leaving the 20% and 40% to pick up the slack rather than the rules being written in a language not even tax specialists can understand?

And when it comes to tax of course, one obvious use of this is to provide a tax code to the employer to make sure the correct tax is paid... The icon for "domicile for tax purposes" is going to be *see-no-evil monkey* by the way.

I saw that on Columbo last week! A ceramic crown for a tooth. One that had turned blue... immediately the wrong doer had no option but to submit to the authorities. That's all it takes. A blue tooth.

Re: This is a nonsense

Did anyone verify that though before employing her? Damn. What we need is some sort of digital ID system that would enable one to look up an employee's right to work, qualifications, last employer, tax code, NI number, IQ, shoe size, who they met from Tinder last week...

It's an excellent idea...

Absolute 100% secure high speed network mobile & fixed broadband coverage for the UK and all offshore territories up to the territorial limit... that's the only thing that will make this practicable.

It's all going to be OK...

Fujitsu are on the case.

You'd need something like a blockchain currency for that.

Hardware inspector fired for spotting an error he wasn't trained to find

Re: Anyone remember Miniscribe?

I once took delivery from a catalogue company of a top of the line Philips VCR which had StarText on it (an idea I'd had aged~14 but someone with an actual job had obviously thought of it at the same time; hence my desire to get my hands on one now I had a job and had some money - see how well it worked etc). Anyway, unboxed the VCR only to find a breeze block cellophane taped to a board in the bottom of an otherwise empty outer carton.

Power cuts, cable damage, and government shutdowns behind Q2 internet outages

Re: How many straws?

Not that hard really... OK, there are one or two things that need ironing out...

24th July UK Mobile Network

Having troubles today, but no-one reporting on it really. Techradar mainly.

Penn State boffins create silicon-free two-dimensional computer

Well I suppose it's different one of the other uses of silicon, namely the enhancement of 3D structures.

UK unis to cough up to £10M on Java to keep Oracle off their backs

Indeed, I posed the query to AI to see if there was a difference in the output the models came up with. These AIs are owned by companies such as Microsoft who are well known for aggressive licensing, whereas Google seems to be a bit more "laissez-faire" when it comes to monetising their IP.

Re: Students don't have to be paid for

Neocleous v Rees [2019]

Re: Students don't have to be paid for

They've thought of that. The act of installation or use counts as agreeing to the contract and being bound by the T&Cs.

Interestingly Co-Pilot from Microsoft says "In summary, while Oracle's Java licensing practices may be seen as aggressive, they do not fit the definition of ransomware. Instead, they reflect a stringent approach to software licensing that can be challenging for some users to navigate."

But ChatGPT says "While not ransomware in the literal sense, Oracle’s strategy is perceived as “monetizing entrapment” — a business tactic that, although legally valid, has a similar effect."

Re: Students don't have to be paid for

Employees and the agreement specifically states that “Contractors” refers to Your agents and contractors (including, without limitation, outsourcers).

And the way they've defined things, it's arguable that the get out clause for "personal use" doesn't cover jack shit, as they restrict that to personal computing devices, which they define as a machine only capable of running personal applications. Arguably if a "personal" device is running an enterprise licensed version of, say, Word then that doesn't fit their criteria and suddenly... whammy.

M&S online ordering system operational 46 days after cyber shutdown

Re: Our service has been upgraded....

Their website has always displayed the underware.

Microsoft rolls out Windows 11 Start Menu updates

Re: Dynamic positioning

So long as the contextual menu always has an option that includes everything on the old menu... Windows... reducing OS bloat since '98

Re: Only a small step away from having gone full circle to Windows phone

So the synthesised definition holds true! See? It's a valid approach to language comprehension.

Re: Only a small step away from having gone full circle to Windows phone

An Alien learning English by reasonable deduction.

Metro (first example definition) -> An interface formerly designed, promoted and unilaterally imposed on customers by Microsoft which proved unpopular at the time.

Metro (second example definition) -> A system of light or heavy rail designed for urban commuter travel with the potential to become disrupted by "passenger incidents".

Metro (synthesised definition) -> A system possessing the ability to make people want to throw themselves under a train.

Re: We're making it easier...

My bank made "moving money around" easier in their app... by adding 5 layers of completely redundant decision points into the tree.

It went from

"Move money from the account you were viewing when you clicked on the control to a list of all your accounts and previous payees with the option to add a new payee in that list"

to

"Move money > Select an account > Move to an account or pay to a Payee? > Existing or new Payee? > UK based or overseas payee? > Business or personal account? > A list of all your accounts and previous payees with the option to add a new payee in that list."

Making it easier... some strange new definition of the word "easier" I was previously unaware of.

Still...

Looks like an absolute dog's dinner made out of pig's ears and scrambled hodgepodge.

BT won't budge over pay hike for manager grade employees

Re: Management is not a specialist skill.

Please tell me which planet you are on

Flintlewoodlewix.

Re: Help

No no. The CALL is really important... the customer themselves on the other hand... It's all to do with the metrics you see.

Techie traced cables from basement to maternity ward and onto a roof, before a car crash revealed the problem

I have to admit...

that was a very good spot. I'm impressed. A lot of parts to it all.

Odd homage to '2001: A Space Odyssey' sees 'Blue Danube' waltz beamed at Voyager 1

The docking bay is very... Imperial in its appearance, don't you think?

Oh, and anyone who is a fan of this aesthetic... check out Space Station 76.

Re: Even 2001 is light years away now

"I have the sense that the casts of UFO and Space 1999 could have mingled indistinguishably with that of 2001; That said, the outfits of Pan Am flight attendant (then hostess) and space station receptionist are still rather fetching. ;)"

They did!

Wanted: IT manager for UK government agency – £60k

Re: Doesn't seem odd or even that bad tbh

True. The "strategy" / "executive" tier seems to get a LOT more than the "skilled" / "hands-on" roles. Except Cisco Certified people. They HAVE to get a competitive salary - it's a walk out, walk in situation as far as I understand it. Although I may be wrong nowadays of course - willing to be corrected if I am.

Yeah... sounds about right. The pay is not competitive at all. But whose fault is that?

Techie fixed a ‘brown monitor’ by closing a door for a doctor

Re: Does not sound like any kind of fix to me

Nope. Small desk lamps clipped to the edge of the bench. Do it all the time. I work in microscopy.

Re: Does not sound like any kind of fix to me

Turn the room lights off?

How sticky notes saved 'the single biggest digital program in the world'

Re: Hang on a moment...

Where's your pedantry icon? You're completely correct of course...

Hang on a moment...

So the benefits system is bigger than the Inland Revenue service? No wonder we're up the creek.

OpenAI model modifies shutdown script in apparent sabotage effort

Re: Obligatory ST:TOS Reference

DALEK: His order was wrong. I cannot serve human beings if I am immobilised. You gave me power. Your orders are right. I serve you.

So your [expletive] test failed. So [obscene participle] what?

Failed Usability Check. Known Exception Dumped.

LegoGPT is here to make your blocky dreams come true

Re: Ava Pun

I misread the other as Kragle Deng.

People find amazing ways to break computers. Cats are even more creative

Re: We had an issue with a rabbit

I made that joke and was met with a blank stare.

Re: We had an issue with a rabbit

My ex wife told me that the birds had pulled apart the cabling for the network. Nest building instincts.

The 12 KB that Windows just can't seem to quit

Sacrifice As A Service