Posts by NBCanuck

Dump ur mobile provider via txt by 2019: LMFAO cu l8r

Re: As ever, too late.

Once change recently made in Canada is that all carriers have to unlock their customers' phones upon demand for free, and all future phones sold cannot be locked to any providers. Merry Christmas!

One provider (Bell) has been making the news by following the letter of the law. If someone buys a second hand phone and takes it to Bell to be unlocked Bell is refusing as they are not "a customer" (and probably never will be with that service attitude). Hopefully the CRTC will clarify the rules and remove that exception.

Australian central bank says 'speculative mania' and crime fuel Bitcoin

Speculating

Bitcoin started out as a virtual currency, but now it is more like stock than anything else. While the initial value was from people who believed in the original vision, that is not what is driving the price.

10 People who have bitcoin want to protect their investment or make a profit

20 Bitcoin holders hype bitcoin.

30 Hype triggers people to buy and the price goes up.

40 People see the price going up buy it.

50 GOTO 10

These are not people seeking to use it as a currency, these are people hoping to buy something now and sell later at a profit. Holders, especially late adopters, are at risk if the hype ends, the price stops going up, and people rush to get out before the price drops. And it will. And once it hits the new floor the cycle will start all over again and begin a new rise.

Drone collisions with airliners may not be fatal, US study suggests

Responsibility/Liability

Ok....so the actual damage might not be enough to kill everyone on board, but my thoughts are (and benefiting from comments already stated by others here):

1 ) even minor damage to an aircraft is expensive. (parts/labour/time not in service)

2) any know damage to the aircraft may result in the diversion of the aircraft to another airport causing additional cost and delays (missed meetings, lost vacation time)

I don't think the enjoyment of someone playing** with a drone should even closely compare with the rights of the airlines and passengers, and they certainly don't have the assets or carry liability insurance to compensate for all of the losses. People have the right to do a lot of things, and they also are held accountable/liable when their actions cause a loss to someone else.

Today's aircraft are a lot safer and have some redundancies for things that can go wrong....but that being said, I wouldn't want to be the one to test them.

*** - I say "playing" referring to amateurs. I separate them out from professional drone pilots who tend to operation a little more cautiously, responsibly, and carry appropriate liability insurance.

Dawn of The Planet of the Phablets in 2019 will see off smartphones

Solution?

With proposed upcoming clamshell smartphones the solution may be close.

In folded mode give it a basic screen that permits alerts and basic call and SMS functions and a viewer for camera For browsing or other apps open it up.

Phones have gotten so slim that folding them won't really make for a thick phone (but PLEASE make sure there is room for a decent sized battery!).

Surprise: Android apps are riddled with trackers

Disclosure

What I would like to see is full disclosure on all apps with a full, but non-legalese, description of why the company is providing the software free.

"Software is provided to end-user with no fee...

...with limited features with the hope that they will upgrade to a paid upgrade."

...because we are hoping to profit from in-app purchases."

...in exchange for allowing us to track browsing information to sell to third parties for advertising/other uses."

...in exchange for allowing us to track user's location data to sell to third parties for advertising/other uses."

Royal Navy destroyer leaves Middle East due to propeller problems

Re: Less is more?

Agree.

I hope we don't have to face the lesson learned in the Arthur C. Clark short story "Superiority"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superiority_(short_story)

The reality of this happening today first reared its head to me years ago when I heard a story about a multi-million dollar jet taken down by a low-tech rocket launcher.

It's time to rebuild the world for robots

Who pays for it all?

So is this something that car manufacturers want the government to pay for with our taxes? This is not something that will benefit even a small majority for a long time to come (if ever). Everyone paying for the benefit of a small number of people and the auto manufacturers is not something I want to see. Have each region put forth a plebiscite (listing the pros and cons (including details on proposed expenditures and timelines) to see if they want this and I doubt you would see too many takers.

US energy, nuke and aviation sectors under sustained attack

Re: Find the weak spots

"Would it be legal to send emails to your own employees to identify these individuals and then "allow them to pursue new opportunities" before they have the chance to compromise your company?"

Actually our company DOES send out test emails, though I believe it is more for testing and educating - at least I am not aware of any more serious action being taken.

All email coming from outside our enterprise is automatically delivered with red text at the top saying "External Email" so at least it is harder for someone to spoof coming from a legitimate company employee. My thoughts are that if they fail this one "education" should only be an option the first time.

Linux-loving lecturer 'lost' email, was actually confused by Outlook

So many levels of fail

End-user - while it is understandable that he was upset when he thought he had lost all of his email, he did himself no favour in blasting the IT department. All he accomplished was to alienate them so bad that no one wanted to help him. If you need something from someone always make them WANT to assist you.

IT Dept - while no one enjoys dealing with a verbally abusive customer, they really messed up when they put off helping him until the other tech returned from vacation. Instead of a quick investigation and providing great relief to the user they contributed to an environment where the user was left to get angrier and I'm sure this generated a lot of talk about lack of support from IT. Even with it being user-error and a good outcome, complaints about poor support would have been valid.

Techie - he did everything right before going on vacation, and patiently allowed the user to vent a bit while explaining the issue, AND quickly resolved the problem. All aces until he had to go and get his dig in. So much potential to help undo some damage but his need for revenge for the rant lost him his high ground.

Intel CEO Krzanich quits Trump's Manufacturing Council over response to Charlottesville rallies

@AC

"Trump is correct here. Let's see if Frazier takes up the challenge. I'm guessing ... he won't."

...and just how many of Trump branded products have had their manufacturing moved to the USA?

Raising minimum wage will raise something else: An army of robots taking away folks' jobs

Re: Yup

@ Gene Cash

"I now order using the touchpanel at the local McDonald's. I don't have to deal with a person and my order is accurate, and it's faster.

It's not a "robot" but it's automated, and it's taking a cashier's job away."

I like the touch panels at McDs. My ability to make sure that my order is entered correctly is in my hands. If only they would use the labour savings to actually serve the food in a decent period of time. They used to be the best but have had poor service for years.

Hey, remember that monkey selfie copyright drama a few years ago? Get this – It's just hit the US appeals courts

Took a picture?

The monkey saw the camera and was curious.

The monkey started touching the camera to examine it.

Monkey touches button....camera goes click.

Monkey like click.

Monkey touches button again....and again...and again. Happy monkey!

The monkey is unaware that he took a picture.

Even given that, how do we know that the monkey has agreed to be represented by anyone?

Maybe the shrewd monkey is merely waiting for mass use of the picture before sending in his own lawyer to sue everyone.

While USA is distracted by its President's antics, China is busy breaking another fusion record

Re: Who still uses farenheight for things like this ?

"Wow. That's nearing 5 MegaHiltons."

@ Adam 1

I think the correct term should be GigaHiltons. Your unit overstates the true value of her diminishing hotness.

Uber's New York competitor sued over driver equity scheme

Law school vocabulary

"we intend to vigorously defend against the allegations in court."

Why is it lawyers seem to have such a limited vocabulary and resort to standard canned statements all the time. Really....after all the money they spent on law school you'd think they could occasionally "aggressively" defend against an allegation. Or maybe: "boldly defend" or "earnestly defend".

Samsung's Bixby assistant fails English, gets held back a month

Still have my Note 4 and it is still my favourite phone to date. Replaced the battery and it got it's second life. I love the idea of having the dust and water protection, but hate the thought of moving to a phone where I cannot swap the battery. Always wondered who benefited more from the sealed case:

Consumer - whose phone will survive accidents involving water or

Manufacturers - who know that people will become less satisfied and buy a new one when it fails to hold a good charge (because they don't know that they can still be done if you find the right person/company).

Male escort forgot pregnancy protection, scores data protection instead

Re: A bit of German

I think a better English translation would be:

Fun had in earnest. Ernest is now seven years old.

The spelling of earnest/Ernest differ but sound the same when spoken.

Uber wasn't to blame for robo-ride crash – or was it? Witness said car tried to 'beat the lights'

Re: The main issue

@David Nash

"As I understood it, the self-driving robot car did not have something in its path. It was in the path of the other car, which hit it side-on."

Agreed - the driver proceeding straight through an intersection has the right-of-way over a left turning driver (in North America). In this case the left turning driver would be considered at fault as there was a greater onus on them to make sure they could turn across the other lane safely.

While a real person in the Uber car may have recognized a potentially dangerous situation and used more caution at the intersection, the Uber car failed to respond to the potentially dangerous situation and proceeded strictly bases on the fact that there were no cars in its path. While what it did was not strictly illegal, programming the extra analysis of abstract details that a person does would be a huge task.

Maybe when all cars are automated (and I am not looking forward to that) they can communicate enough to work out coordination of movement, but outside a closed system the AI just isn't there yet.

Why do GUIs jump around like a demented terrier while starting up? Am I on my own?

Re: ATM's

"Do you want a receipt "No",

Do you want to email a receipt? "Nope"

Do you want a text message receipt? "FFS! Nope"

Do you want any other service? "FFS! Just give me the money you stupid machine!!!""

Hmmm..reminds me of a particularly annoying toaster from Red Dwarf. talk about life imitating art.

Beijing deploys facial scanners to counter public toilet abuse

Travelling

One thing I always take with me when travelling is a roll of TP. Hardly ever need it, but it has come in handy in places that were out, or had sandpaper single-ply stuff where you cold rub a couple sheets together to start a fire.

User jams up PC. Literally. No, we don't know which flavour

Turbo Button

For a brief while the Turbo button was my friend. When I upgraded from a 386 to a 486 processor and tried to play Wing Commander the performance with the larger ships was much smoother than with the 386, but it was too sensitive (for me) when flying the little scout ships. Turning Turbo off slowed things down and made it playable.

Mars orbiter FLOORS IT to avoid hitting MOON

Space Junk

So now we are cluttering up the space around another plant with junk. Before any company/government/agency puts anything into an orbit (Earth, Mars, or anything) there should be a plan in place for them to remove the object before end-of-life occurs. With smaller satellites around Earth that can mean planned orbital decay where they can burn up in the atmosphere, but this would not work on Mars. Options would be:

1) use thrusters to leave orbit and head out into the void

2) remain in orbit as a future navigation hazard, or

3) have the space junk scattered over the surface of Mars.

Any other solutions?

LG, Huawei unwrap 'Samsung Galaxy-killers'

Battery

I have a Note 4. While there are newer phones out there with now bigger screens, better cameras and other spiffy new features, they have all gone to sealed cases where you cannot swap a better out. Many have added back a slot for a memory card, but you are stuck with the battery. While the phone may last you a long time it will feel old as the battery's capacity diminishes over time.

Last year I replaced my battery and easily get a full day out of it. I even have a spare battery (with separate charger) for those times when usage goes a little nuts. Water/dust-proofing is nice, but unless a phone has the ability for a user-swappable battery it is not a viable candidate for a new phone.

I'LL BE BATT: Arnie Schwarzenegger snubs gas guzzlers for electric

Clean electricity

Just remember that while electricity is "clean" at point of use, it may not be at point of generation.

Wind, solar and hydro are clean generating (apart from what goes into manufacturing the parts), as in nuclear (clean as in gaseous emissions, not that no waste is produced), but if the electricity is being generated at coal-fired plants, then all it is doing is transferring the bad air to another region.

The biggest hurdles are still transfer times and battery capacity vs size and weight. We are getting better at generating clean electricity but still lack on the ability of storing excess for use at night or during calm winds. The race to be the one to produce a long-range, fast-charging car that won't catch on fire is worth big bucks. Just glad to see that there are still a lot of companies pursuing it. Don't give up, folks!

iPhone hacking biz Cellebrite hacked

"warned that basic contact information for people that were registered to receive notifications from the company has been accessed. Reportedly, as much as 900GB of information was taken."

Uh....that's a lot of "basic contact information"!

Peace-sign selfie fools menaced by fingerprint-harvesting tech

Re: Not that it matters much with most Brits...

"Because the two-finger gesture most commonly used doesn't show the fingerprint to the recipient."

I must say I am a fan of that particular gesture. It portrays the message quite clearly, is easier to make, and somehow **classier than the North American equivalent of "flipping someone the bird".

**taken from a Canadian perspective anyhow. Would be curious to see how a Brit would compare the two gestures.

Stupid law of the week: South Carolina wants anti-porno chips in PCs that cost $20 to disable

Dual featured chip?

Pay $20

....blocking function = disabled

...and hidden logging/tracking function = enabled.

Bluetooth-enabled safe lock popped after attackers win PINs

@AC

"What happens when the lock loses its power supply - non-volatile memory? Can any battery be changed with the safe closed?"

Well, based on their current convenience over security model I'm sure it comes with another nifty feature:

Upon battery failure the door will automatically open to allow access to the battery compartment while flashing a bright "look at me" light to get their (and everyone else's) attention.

IBM boss pledges to hire 25,000 Americans in next four years

Important difference...

IBM "pledges to hire 25,000 Americans in next four years".

There is a very big difference between hiring 25,000 Americans and increasing their workforce by 25,000 Americans. Hopefully that is clarified before one single dollar moves their way.

Bill Gates joins $170bn climate change investment club

Re: Given the time scales involved, just one word

"Nucular... Its pronounced Nucular." - Homer Simpson

TalkTalk hacker gets iPhone taken away by Norwich Youth Court

One more analogy

So a person cases a neighborhood and reports in to a burglary ring to tell them the houses that would be would be easiest to break into...which doors and windows are unlocked and no dogs or alarms.

Slap on the wrist?

Re: Ridiculous

@Aitor 1

"if I have a frontdoor made of cardboard (not the case) and somebody kicks it and nicks my stuff, it is the burglar who is responsible. Not the victim."

True, the police would charge the burglar. Even if the door was accidentally left open the crime is the same. (but good luck getting your insurance company to pay up)

Personally throwing the book at him would have been too harsh, but this was too little. Some community service or something a little more severe is warranted. The current young generation is far too used to getting things handed to them and not being held accountable for their actions. They have a sense of entitlement from getting things without earning them (no chores, no job) and mommy and daddy rescuing them when they misbehave. Once upon a time parents would ground take ownership of the punishment (grounding, deprive them of privileges), but unfortunately now the courts need to step it up a bit as the parents no longer want to parent.

Petulant Facebook claims it can't tell the difference between child abuse and war photography

I am no fan of Facebook, but it does have the right to control what content it allows in its posts and since they have such a broad audience they need to walk a cautious line about what people (and the law) consider indecent. If Facebook determines that someone's pictures are not appropriate then they can and should remove them. There are other ways and sites to post information besides Facebook, though people seem to have forgotten.

Why do people feel that Facebook is the be all end all of information? If an online site does not provide the services that you want then use another service. If protesters really wanted to make a statement they could have people protested by deactivating their accounts, at least temporarily, but most of the people I know couldn't last a day without their Facebook fix.

Engine warning light appears on Uber's $100m driver settlement

Profit?

I have never been involved with Uber and am not familiar with how much the drivers make. I think the original concept was based on "Someone needs a drive and I'm heading that way anyhow...might as well make a buck." If this is the case it was not really meant to provide someone a real income.

After dealing with gas, maintenance and depreciation (as those kms rack up), the increased cost of insurance (because, yeah, all the drivers are carrying extra insurance) are the drivers really making that much money? What is their % take of the Uber charge?

Stop resetting your passwords, says UK govt's spy network

Guilty

At work we have a forced password reset on the network every three months, and I am guilty of using an incremental system most of the time, and only change the base password occasionally.

That being said....

I do have unique passwords for every single site I access. Passwords consist of a base password and something unique to each site. Base password is phrase along with special characters, caps and numbers. So if my phrase was "Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock" I would use something like:

Hdd88,tMrutC!

No words, random, but not difficult to remember. Not a perfect solution but has worked for me.

Netflix's $1.81 billion Q1 disappoints markets

Issue with Content (or lack thereof)

I have been with Netflix for about a year. There just isn't enough content (Canada). Selection is limited, new arrivals are few and far between, and if I am going to check out a TV series I do want to start watching at Season 1, not 3, 4, 5 or later. Maybe I'll give them anther try next year, spend a month watching the new releases and repeat the cycle until they up their catalog.

Millions menaced as ransomware-smuggling ads pollute top websites

Malware?

Nice generic term....but what was the nature of the "malware"? Keylogger, botnet....ransomware? Sometimes I think that some click-happy users have it coming, but when the risk is there for just going to a site then the advertising model for web sites really needs an overhaul. Some of the sites are likely visited by very non-technical people who would not recognize when they were infected nor have the means (knowledge or funds) to have it corrected.

As we all know that will only happen when it hits business where it hurts....$$$$$$$$$$$. As other people have commented....the timing of this should be a pretty good argument against the companies who want to block the ad-blockers. And if they do force people to disable ad-blockers to access content, then they should be on the hook to fix grandma and grandpa's computers when they get loaded with crap.

Microsoft quits giving us the silent treatment on Windows 10 updates

Re: Fuck Off Microsoft

"My two criteria for my TV purchase last year were a dumb TV with at least three HDMI ports. Beyond that, I was flexible about most other things, although I had a range of sizes and other features that needed to be met. I'd be trading horrid network security and an always listening Telescreen for apps that are barely functional poor facsimiles of what I can do with a Playstation, Roku, Apple TV, or Raspberry Pi."

I agree. Manufacturers should stick to making dumb TVs. The "smart" hardware included will become obsolete way before the TV does. as "O RLY" said, it is much simpler to add and remove the functionality as needed using HDMI ports, and makes for cheaper upgrades.

The primary benefit of a smart TV is with the manufacturer who gets a higher retail price, and slurped data. The consumer pays a premium for built-in tech that can usually be had for far less separately.

Of course there are a few TVs where the "smart" tech is in a removable module. Smart of manufacturers. They know you won't need a new TV, but it keeps you buying until you do.

Remember Netbooks? Windows 10 makes them good again!

Re: Windoze XP

"Mostly Win 7 "Starter edition". I have a netbook with 7 Starter and I'm pondering whether to take the plunge or not of the proffered upgrade."

I had a netbook with Win 7 Starter. While I had it I upped the memory from 1GB to 2, and changed the drive to a 64GB SSD. I had given my old netbook to my daughter over a year ago and she took the plunge last fall and upgraded to Win 10. She did it on her own, likes it very much, and I have not been called upon a single time for tech support or instructions.

Assange will 'accept arrest' on Friday if found guilty

Wil be glad to have him out of the news

My preferred outcome to all of this:

1) He gets the max time for skipping bail (pretty hard to be found "not guilty" on this one).

2) Sweden has their trial. Either outcome is bad for him. Obviously so if found guilty, but also if found not guilty as it means he wasted years, potentially for nothing

3) He publishes the book he has probably been writing and no one buys it.

4 He goes on to be completely irrelevant, ignored and forgotten.

Other opinions may vary.

Philips backs down over firmware that adds DRM to light

Re: Current through wire in a (near) vacuum - IoT

"Have you tried the LED bulbs that have been around for years now, rather than CFLs? Massive power savings, last longer than incandescents, smaller bulbs than CFLs, and don't have the "flicker"."

....not to mention don't emit mercury when dropped or broken, and are much more resistant to breaking in the first place. And for those of us who have to deal with cold winters, LED bulbs come on immediately while CFL bulbs can take a few minutes to heat up before putting out much light.

Who owns space? Looking at the US asteroid-mining act

Home Delivery

Ok. Say a private company successfully mines an asteroid, that there are no other claims to property, and the material is deemed devoid of life. What happens should there be a small "issue" when attempting to bring the material back to earth. Who's going to underwrite THAT insurance policy?

Another chance to win a 6TB Western Digital Black hard drive

Go ahead and share all of your life's details on the internet, but there will always be the fear that something on the web will come back to bite you!

Samsung S6: You might get a Sony camera in it - or you might not

Re: How to tell? @ Shrimpling

Sony here on my Note 4 also. Would be curious to know if anyone can confirm they have a Samsung camera.

Apple Pay a haven for 'rampant' credit card fraud, say experts

Liability?

So who takes the dive on this one?

Apple? No, I think they have probably done a good job protecting themselves. Their system is not broken.

The Bank? Hopefully since it is their shoddy verification process that is causing the issue.

The Consumer? Hopefully not but possible. The poor guy gets the bill and when he claims fraud:

Cons.: "I didn't buy anything from XStore."

Bank: "Yes, sir....the charge is from XStore in XTown. You do live in XTown don't you?

Cons.: "Well, yes....but I don't shop there."

Bank: "I'm sorry sir, but that appears to be a valid charge."

Cons.: "That's not possible....I have my credit card right here."

Bank: "Indeed, sir. The transaction was authorized by ApplePay."

Cons.: "But I don't use ApplePay."

Bank: "We have your validated request to add your credit card to ApplePay.

Cons.: "But....but....I don't have an iPhone."

Bank: "Ooh...you should use ApplePay when you purchase one."

Cons.: "But....but....but...."

and SCENE.

Cons.: "That's not possible....I have my credit card right here."

But I didn't buy anything that cost that much."

But I didn't buy a new TV." the bank comes back and says it is is valid charge. Yep....transaction properly authorized Much worse if the fraud happens in the same local area where the consumer lives.

Ex-Systemax execs Carl & Gilbert Fiorentino jailed over $27m fraud

Punishment fitting the crime?

I'm glad they they are doing jail time, but I would also like to have heard about their assets being seized (proceeds of crime). There are a lot of people who would gladly do 5 years in exchange for all of the wealth these two acquired during their spree.

Pebble: The brilliant stealth wearable Apple's Watch doesn't see coming

Re: come on people

uh....I think JDX just did (see comment above yours.

Doctor Who becomes an illogical, unscientific, silly soap opera in Kill The Moon

Sharing the load

Clara, and most of the companions, have always gone along with the doctor on grand adventures and while they were usually contributors to the successful outcomes, when things were at the darkest they always expected him to pull a rabbit out of a hat to save everyone. It is almost always him that has to make a decision that impacts lives. Maybe as part of his cantankerous new personality the decisions of the past are weighing more heavily on him and he wanted to give her an idea of the load he carries....and that prancing around the universe isn't all just fun and games for him. This personality is older and might be a little bitter of the way the young tend to act as though nothing can hurt them then run to mom and dad when they skin their knees.

Just another perspective.