Posts by 0laf

Latest Musk merch drop runs entirely on child labor

Godwin's Law

Join the Tesla Youth

Kick your mouse out of the house with this AI-assisted keyboard utility

" the promise to allow users to perform mouse actions on every single object on their screen with nothing but keyboard shortcuts."

I think I could do that on my Amiga 500 in 1990 and it only had 512kb of ram.

UK AI hiring surges as firms seek people to babysit the bots

Re: Recruit for luck, not talent

You've just described the "Peter Principle" or the "Dilbert Principle" which has been around a lot longer than AI.

Scientists pour cold water on claims phones are rewiring kids' brains

Re: Not the tool but the use

From my humble experience with my kids their behaviour gets worse the more screen time they have and it doesn't seem to matter what screen it is. On demand tv seems to be just as bad even when the content is perfectly innocent. Not sure if it's the constant availability of screen based stimulation or the absence of having to wait for anything but it makes them shitty little brats.

Anthropic’s bug-hunting Mythos was greatest marketing stunt ever, says cURL creator

Re: I like my sample sets big

For your rhymes sir

Remote or not, workers are drifting back toward the city

There are some very broad assumption there in which to base findings.

People are moving closer to cities therfore they want to be closer to city based offices?

Or transport links are appalling outside of cities

Or fuel is expensive so people want to minimise driving

Or many other things that mean life is generally more expensive and more difficult outside of large population centres.

But no, you fixate on propping up the commercial property values as your only conclusion

EU broadcasters say smart TVs and voice assistants are the next gatekeepers

Smart TV seem to be pretty much obsolete out the box. Venders being rather unwilling to maintain these shiny screens for any length of time. In fact was LG not fined for selling brand new TVs which were already unsupported?

We use an add on streaming devices and run the TVs as a dumb tv. They're not network connected to anything. The streaming box is better maintained and the TV doesn't listen.

Microsoft boss on AI content: 'Nobody wants anything that is sloppy'

Re: Sick and tired of these billionaire tech bro bozos pushing this ish on everyone

MAIcroslop Coprolite

I think we're getting close to the perfect nomdeplume for it

NASA repurposes Mars Helicopter’s ancient Snapdragon SoC to help Perseverance rover navigate

Brilliant

Location processing outsourced to a broken toy helicopter.

Would loved to been in the room when this idea popped out in a meeting. Proper boffinry.

Attackers have 16-digit card numbers, expiry dates, but not names. Now org gets £500k fine

Re: Incedible decision by the upper tier in the first place

Indeed you are supposed to carry out due dilligence on all your sub-processors.

Buuut, in this case the act was committed before the GDPR /UK-GDPR was in place and the the flow down of responsibilities was not so clear in the older legislation.

This case is being held against the DPA 1998 not the current laws 500k is the max fine for this one

Summoning the spirit of the BBC Micro with a Pi 500+ and a can of spray paint

Break

Where is the 'Break' key that caused so much terror to both me and my small collegues in the early-mid 80s?

Sitting there on the keyboard like the Sword of Damocles ready to drop at a particularly stressful moment when playing "The Oregon Trail"*.

*I believe you can recreate the trauma of the game online now.

'The EU runs on Microsoft' – and Uncle Sam could turn it off, claims MEP

Yep that's the rub. I don't think it would be too hard for the UK to be self sufficient in terms of food but the population might not be too happy about what they'd be eating.

Mainly root veg plus cabbages and a return to seasonality.

Open source's new mission: Rebuild a continent's tech stack

I wouldn't sneer at the ECDL. It was very useful for many people that hadn't had any exposure to using a business type computer. I agree the simplistic on/off stuff can be dropped now (was useful then) but the basics around how to use a word processor, how to save and retrieve a file, simple spreadsheet use. That's all still relevant.

There has been a push to say that "everyone is digital native now", it's total bollox but was wheeled out to justify cutting training budgets. Lots of people even young 'uns know ahow to use a phone but aren't always knowledgable about office type tasks on a PC/laptop

I'd humbly suggest that an ECDL type course focussed on using FOSS would be a fine thing to have around.

Stop dragging feet on AI nudification ban, UK government told

Are they just trying to avoid upsetting the orange toddler?

His big tech funders seem to call up him pretty quick when anyone threatens to take a penny or two out of their pockets.

Would he back up Ol' Musky? I've no idea if those two have tiffs in public just for shits 'n' giggles, to pump stocks somehow or if it's real.

What if Linux ran Windows… and meant it? Meet Loss32

Re: If you

Cripes, Yellow Dog. That's giving me some flashbacks

Windows 11 needs an XP SP2 moment, says ex-Microsoft engineer

Re: Wait

I think that's it really. For home users (not gaming so much) Linux has been perfectly usable for a long time. Now the gaming stuff is much improved.

But it's not Linux that is winning users it is MS that is losing them.

W11 doesn't work for them or the upgrade from W10 is too expensive. Some will move to Linux but I suspect the majority of users that move away from MS will be people who just give up on the format and start to use a phone or tablet for everything.

Businesses won't shift, but the sovereignty concerns caused by the Great Orange Leader might start to move those rusty gears for government. If nothing else they might well force a legal split in the hyperscalers into US/EU entities

Power crunch threatens to derail AI datacenter construction

Re: Do those responsible for these projects never stop to wonder?

If they drum up enough F.U.D. and generate enough fear amongst politicians then they will probable get all the data access and grid upgrades they want without spending a penny. With a bit of luch and by greasing the right palms they might even swing a tax subsidy

Tablet market stalls because there’s not much new worth buying

Re: No Great Loss ... 100% Correct.

I'm happy to stream thing I will likely never read or listen to again. It save the clutter and I won't miss them if the supplier takes them back.

If i really like it I'll buy it, ideally second hand.

Sopme things are gettign quite rare now (90 UK comedy shows are my usual hunt at the moment as they seem to be disapearing, have you seen the price of a "Filth, Rich and Catflap" DVD!)

UK's Ajax fighting vehicle arrives – years late and still sending crew to hospital

Re: So the UKs answer to "The Pentagon Wars" then

From what I've seen/read the capability of a Bradley to take out a MBT like a T72 is still a bit of a hail Mary move and not advisable.

Big Tech's control freak era is breaking itself apart

Re: There isn't, won't, and can't be a magic bullet

"Good, fast, cheap", you're not wrong there. But with functionally stupid leaders and a lazy disinterested populous Fast and Cheap aways wins.

Props for bringing up Slackware. The first Linux distro I ever got working in about 2002 (after failing to get Debian to work).

Microsoft apologizes for not explaining cheaper no-AI M365 plans, and all it took was a government lawsuit

Re: Actually, this is where "AI" is a tool

GPT is pretty good at helping fix Linux installations and choosing FOSS alternative software

Pop!_OS deejays prepare to release holiday remix along with Cosmic v 1.0

A few months ago, not this release.

I didn't pick up it was a beta, everthing I saw indicated it was a full product and even sold preinstalled in Pop hardware.

I did like it but it didn't work on my hardware. The software centre / store was particularly good.

The sweetest slice of Pi: Raspberry Pi 500+ sports mechanical keys, 16GB, and built-in SSD

I have no use for this

Still want one.

Anyone developing a clamshell case and a battery to go with this?

Make it into a nice (if chunky) little portable.

UK chancellor Putin the blame on Russia for cyber chaos, but evidence says otherwise

Re: Evidence

If only Rik was still here to keep going with "The New Statesman"

Re: Evidence

Tax the rich.

Except they like to use the Guardian definition of rich which = earning more than the UK median, owning a house, having a car, having a private pension, having savings.

But doesn't seem to include - earning more than £1M (including through stock options, paid through intermediary businesses, loan based income and any other non-salaried income), having more than £100M in assets, being a pal of a minister, donating more than £100k to the party

Ditto for businesses.

Return on investment for Copilot? Microsoft has work to do

Re: Do you mean forece upgrades.

I thought forced auto-enrollment was an acknowledged dark pattern and made the contract unlawful, at least in the UK/EU?

Office 2016 and 2019 face October 14 execution date

I got through university using MS Works which came with a W95 machine.

It's the final countdown: Windows 10 hits end of support in less than 30 days

You've alsoways got SUSE as an option as well. German I believe.

Totally not enough to put me off. I find the Mint setup actually very nice.

I'm sure some of teh games could be made to work, No Man's Sky the most recent attempy which from a quick browse generally has very good Steam/Linux compatability.

But it is the usualy Linux issue of everything being great unless it isn't and fixing things is often a bit of a chore which I don't have time for.

Shaders and NVidia the main suspects I think

Anthropic to pay at least $1.5 billion to authors whose work it knowingly pirated

Re: You know what...

It stops being illegal when you deal with billions (£$€) apparently

Who are you again? Infosec experiencing 'Identity crisis' amid rising login attacks

There is often no choice.

Having to set up alternative or burner accounts to log into services is a step too far for most

Google tries to trump iPhone launch with AI-powered Pixel 10 range

Adding features no one wants, that impact performance as a selling point?

That a brave strategy

Commodore Amiga turns 40, headlines UK exhibition

FB has recently revealed to be quite a thriving antique Amiga scene. There are lots of people out there providing expertise in restoring and renewing old Amigas. If you still got the kit it might well be savable

Re: 40 years. Sheesh.

My parents possibly bought my Amiga from you too

Glory days

I had a 500 which was a dream machine for me after seeing my cousin's machine.

Some of my happiest gaming time ever. Speedball 2 as someone else brought up, Alien Breed, Stuntcar racer, Starglider 2 (came with a book), It came from the Desert.

I had the Batman pack.

Sorry to admit but most of my games were cracks and copies but I did have a fair few legit ones.

The White House could end UK's decade-long fight to bust encryption

Magical thinking as usual

Who would have thought we'd be thanking POTUS for protecting British citizens data however incidentally it has come about.

UK push to change encryption so that it only opens for the pure-of-heart despite all leaders in the field saying no, despite all academics saying no, despite the maths saying no, is the usual magical thinking by politicians who believe that if they say it outloud then it can be done. I'm also sure there is a queue of snake oil sellers at the door suggeseting that if only they get a grant/fund/contract they can make it happen.

As ransomware gangs threaten physical harm, 'I am afraid of what's next,' ex-negotiator says

Not really a surprise it is theft after all. Once upon a time they would have taken the bank manager's family hostage to ensure he opened the safe when requested.

It's just a remote version of that old scam. Maybe does show a bit of desperation on the part of the attackers.

Moving into threats of physical violence puts them in territory where plod will actually put down the coffee mug and get involved. When it's just money and data they can shrug their shoulders and use 'limited resources' as an excuse to do nothing.

Banning VPNs to protect kids? Good luck with that

Re: "A clear play to capitalize on parents' newfound obsession with online safety"

Plenty of ISPs already offer this as an option. Again it won't stop the more competent teenage boys from finding work arounds but it does make them work for it.

Australia bans kids from signing up for YouTube accounts, angering Google

Re: YouTube Kids that attempt to guarantee a child-safe experience

It's always been bad, there is a lot of stuff which is disturbing and still available to kids because it doesn't meet some algorithmic trigger point.

AI don't know: Enterprises slow to pick up on Copilot+ PCs

Re: Snapdragon

And MS has form for changing its mind costing you thousands or millions even..

Zune, WinPho, Surface RT, Cortana, Silverlight, Hololens etc

Windows 11 is a minefield of micro-aggressions in the shipping lane of progress

Re: Sure, Linux could make a truly usable desktop system....

I think maybe because Linux is chasing the users it doesn't have rather than making the system suit the users it does have.

Hence a focus on design and shiny over pure functionality.

Re: Sure, Linux could make a truly usable desktop system....

W2k was peak functional windows for me. It just got on with the job.

The UI was familiar from 98 but the stability was NT4.

XP was good to use, Win7 was too but nothing since then.

WinPho 8 I consider to be the best mobile OS I have ever used.

W11 was the final straw for me, the idea that I should throw away a decent rig just to buy a half finished OS which acts more like a piece of spyware whilst failing to carry out basic functions (i.e. I could not get W11 to format a USB stick).

I've switched that machine to Mint (Via Pop_OS). I do like it and it does everything I need but the idea that Linux is super easy to install is only true when it works. If you have any problems installing hardware or software on Linux it is a complete ballache. PoP despite being advertised as the most steam compatible OS with built in NVidia support would not use the NVidia card and managed to corrupt user profiles every time the drivers were forced in. Mint was more fluid but still suffers from the occational blank stare when things are opened (especialty the software centre), at the moment it won't pair with a bluetooth XBox controller and the solution is tied up somewhere in GitHub in a way that Mint doesn't seem to understand. nor do I for now.

However I like the OS, it's still an improvement on Linux of old it's nice to feel back in control to some extent anyway and my old hardware continues to provide value.

I've got my son a Macbook for college now that his W10 machine is also seen as unclean by MS. He's just not up to learning Linux and I don't have time to support him, he just needs something that works and that means Apple. I use an iPhone not because I'm an Apple fanboi but because it works, and everything works with it. Apple is easy mode.

I had a droid phone once but got sick of incompatabilities and unreliability with pairing to devices especially cars.

My Mrs has used Macs for years and that is her default.

So right now in my house it's anyone but MS.

Open, free, and completely ignored: The strange afterlife of Symbian

Re: Planet Computers, startup funding, and ISAs

Well that same government has kicked investors in the head by reducing the tax free allowance on dividends from your investment.

Investing in individual startups is a very high risk activity and really not ethical to encourage those with only a small amount of savings anyway to take huge risks with it.

Maybe there needs to be another way to encourage investment. A low vlaue startup ISA that isn't included in any other allowance, maybe a salary sacrifice option. Plenty of people would take a punt on putting in a small amount, maybe only £10-500. It might be high risk but it's better odds than the lottery and a million people putting in £100 is a lot of money.

I always found the little psions very impressive. I still don't think anyone has matched the usability of those little keyboards since

Nearly 3 out of 4 Oracle Java users say they've been audited in the past 3 years

About £500,000?

Post Office and Fujitsu execs 'should have known' Horizon IT system was flawed

Re: Just started reading 1st Report

I think it even says it in this article that 'blame' is to be apportioned in the second report.

But the police are already investigating. As a rare organisation with independent powers of prosecution their abuse of those powers should result in them facing far stricter judgement than Joe Bloggs in the street. We can only hope that the CPS isn't pressured to use the public interest as a way to let the buggers off with it. Hopefully their friends in parliament have moved on/retired and the current lot are less chummy with the accused.

Re: British Justice is the best in the world

Until you've experienced justice in action, even only as juror (as I have), I don't think most people realise what a knife edge you walk on in a courtroom.

Bad luck with your jurors and you could be screwed.

Don't forget

Don't ever forget either that the money these poor people tried to pay back to cover the ficticious losses went into post office coffers and directly contributed to income and therefore any bonuses of those in charge.

On top of everything else the accusers stole from the falsely accused and their families.