Posts by andy gibson

Trump's bright idea of kicking out foreign students unless unis resume in-person classes stuns tech, science world

Re: Does the Big D.T. talk to mayors at all?

D.T.

Dickhead Tyrant?

Windows 10 Insider wondering where Notepad has gone? Fear not, Microsoft found it down the back of Dev Channel

Re: WTF ?

I've not forgiven them for removing PROGMAN.EXE

Former UK Labour deputy leader wants to know how the NHS's contact-tracing app will ensure user privacy

I'm happy to do the job, I've been practising my sad face and saying "lessons have been learned" so I'm more than qualified.

When you bork... through a storm: Liverpool do all they can to take advantage of summer transfer, er, Windows

Re: The Swan

Nice to see another Swan visitor. Hopefully you'll both be back at The Bridewell now its returned back to a real ale place and not a fancy gin and spirits bar.

Motorola bounds out the G8 with a harder, better, faster smartphone for the thrifty

Re: Hits the sweet spot

I know how you feel. I'm going to have a play with flashing my G5 with TWRP and one of the custom ROMs out there first.

Windows 7 goes dual screen to shriek at passersby: Please, just upgrade me or let me die

Re: eh?

Same here. Got a Dell E6440 laptop. Core i5. 250Gb SSD. 8Gb RAM.

Runs like an absolute dog with Windows 10 - slow, sluggish, unresponsive. But flies with Windows 7.

Cache me if you can: HDD PC sales collapse in Europe as shoppers say yes siree to SSD

"spinning rust"

If it means an end to your over-used "spinning rust" phrase you seem to insert in every hard drive article, hurrah.

Android owners – you'll want to get these latest security patches, especially for this nasty Bluetooth hijack flaw

"you'll want to get these latest security patches"

Goes into settings - system - updates....

"Your device is up to date. 1st Feb 2019"

a one year old Motorola phone.

Rockstar dev debate reopens: Hero programmers do exist, do all the work, do chat a lot – and do need love and attention from project leaders

"Why Software Projects need Heroes"

Software Projects already had one way back in the early 80s. His name was Matthew Smith.

Y2K? How about Y2.02K as Lloyds suffers its second TITSUP* of the year

no security checks

Quite worryingly it allowed me to login, setup a new bank transfer recipient and transferred £2000 without any of the usual security checks and phone calls.

Revealed: NHS England bosses meet with tech and pharmaceutical giants to discuss price list of millions of Brits' medical data

Re: Good News!

But isn't it true the child didn't actually need a bed and had flu and tonsillitis which could have been treated at home in his own bed?

Plus, when my child is sick, I tend not to photograph them and send it to the Daily Mirror.

In tribute to Galaxy Note 7, BBC iPlayer support goes up in flames for some Samsung TVs

Re: DIY

"Most Android TV boxes are awful"

They aren't. There have been some brilliant ones over the years, the M8S+, the TZ95, the Mi Box S, all supporting the many free TV and movie APKs or your preferred IPTV of choice.

Talking a Blue Streak: The ambitious, quiet waste of the Spadeadam Rocket Establishment

Re: Nearby Airfield?

More pics here from 2017

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/raf-spadeadam-airfield-northumberland-march-2017.107831/

Fancy yourself as a bit of a Ramblin' Man or Woman? Maybe brush up on your cartography

Maverick app

If you want a great free Android App that includes OS maps, give Maverick a try. There's a paid version too.

BBC said it'll pull radio streams from TuneIn to slurp more of your data but nobody noticed till Amazon put its foot in it

Re: So stop listening...

"When the BBC see their listening numbers are dramatically falling (online) they will realise the error of their ways".

If only. Their recent schedule and presenter changes on R2 and 6Music have led to widespread criticism and lost listeners, but they don't care.

Class-action sueball over refurbed iThings will ask Apple what 'as good as new' means

TIME Computers

TIME computers used to do this regularly at their service centre back in the late 90s.

Android PDF app with just 100m downloads caught sneaking malware into mobes

Re: Infuriating

"So Play protect is basically worthless then?"

Often turned off so people can use third party TV and movie steaming apps which aren't in the Play Store.

Back to school with El Reg - how about a chunky Lenovo for the student in your life?

I had to double check the date on this article and see if it was a review of the first eeePC notebooks with talk of Celerons, soldered in RAM, and tiny storage.

And I see Lenovo are still dabbling with horrible, easy to wear out charging sockets.

US soldier cleared of taking armoured vehicle out for joyride – because he's insane, court says

Re: So...

Or for the modern generation who might not have read Heller, this was a Simpsons episode. Bart has ADHD, gets medication for it, steals a tank.

Breaker, breaker. Apple's iOS 12.4 update breaks jailbreak break, un-breaks the break. 10-4

Re: Just Have To Say

"Don't do what Donny Don't Does"

You TalkTalk a big game, says ads watchdog, but your testing not good enough to say your Wi-Fi's best

Pre-approve ads?

As all Ofcom seems to do is investigate misleading adverts from ISPs which usually involves a lengthy investigation with a "sorry we won't do it again" - Why doesn't it save time and check and approve or deny them BEFORE they're released?

Double-sided printing data ballsup leaves insurance giant Chubb with egg on its face

"Hey boss, we've done the mailshot you wanted. And we saved the company loads, we only needed half the envelopes you bought"

Portal to 'HELL' cracks open in street – oh sorry, it's just another pothole

This is an oldie but goodie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3mg4w9l3Kw

Great disturbance in the Force as Star Wars' 'big walking carpet' is laid to rest

I hope the next Star Wars related headline I read on Monday is "The Peter Mayhew Foundation receives over £1 million in donations from grateful Star Wars fans"

Blundering London council emails unredacted version of notorious Gangs Matrix to 44 people. Data ends up on Snapchat

How did the gangs get the information?

From what I can see in the article, data went out, but to relevant responsible people tackling gang problems.

So how did it end up in the hands of rival gangs on Snapchat?

Yes, the council employee is wrong for sending the data in the first place. But isn't one of the recipients guilty of re-sharing here?

Dead LAN's hand: IT staff 'locked out' of data center's core switch after the only bloke who could log into it dies

Handover documents

Are all well and good, so long as the person tasked with keeping them knows if they're accurate or up to date.

I've taken over IT networks, been handed a "handover package" which comprised of nothing more than "we have switches, servers and computers." or being shockingly out of date.

IBM so very, very sorry after jobs page casually asks hopefuls: Are you white, black... or yellow?

Johnny Mathis

It always amuses me when "When A Child is Born" is played on the radio at Xmas:

https://youtu.be/gjYWYJudTPE?t=123

What did turbonerds do before the internet? 41 years ago, a load of BBS

Sinclair Spectrum

I remember going online in the 80s with a Sinclair Spectrum and a 1200/75 modem (VTX5000)

Aside from Micronet 800 and Prestel there were a few hobbyists running BBSes on BBC Micros and even a Spectrum +3 with external drive.

Access hours were very limited - usually when the owner had gone to bed. I remember calling one night at 1am, they'd forgot to switch on the kit and the sysop's parents were very irate at getting a call at such an ungodly hour

Hungover this morning? Thought 'beer before wine and you'll be fine'? Boffins prove old adage just isn't true

"wine before beer and you’ll feel queer"

Unless you're reporting on the BBC, the saying is now:

"wine before beer and, oh dear"

(From BBC Breakfast News last week)

Court orders moribund ZX Spectrum reboot firm's directors to stump up £38k legal costs bill

Re: Two words for you ...

The next project was funded a long time ago. Unlike the Vega, backers have no worries about their money or the people involved in it.

Apple hardware priced so high that no one wants to buy it? It's 1983 all over again

Re: Limped after Apple II

"It was sponsored by that guy from Apple Computers"

"What Computers?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK6ov8yxZ7A

Typical! You wait ages for a fast radio burst from outer space, and suddenly 13 show up

Parkes

Thanks for the mention of Parkes, The Dish will be my movie choice for tonight.

Dixons Carphone smarting from £440m loss as it writes down goodwill on mobile biz

This is why Dixons isn't great any more. They've moved on, technology isn't fun anymore, just boring and functional, and we just want them to be like they were:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bradford_timeline/sets/72157628427029211/

Waiter, what's this? SpaceX delivery delayed for a day by moldy food

Can't see the problem myself. If it is indeed "moldy" they should be in for a treat:

https://moldfoodfestival.co.uk/

Oh, I wish it could be Black Friday every day-aayyy, when the wallets start jingling but it's still a week till we're paiii-iid

payday

Speak for yourself, I'm paid on the 20th.

Shocker: UK smart meter rollout is crap, late and £500m over budget

pros of the smart meter

Can't speak for anyone else but I've found a couple of occasions they've been useful.

One time I noticed the electric usage was quite high, it turned out to be an outside light left on running a 100w bulb that the previous owner put in.

And more than once I've left the oven on after cooking.

EE, Virgin Media hit with £13.3m fine: Squeezing users for fees for early contract termination not OK

18 month contracts

I had a similar problem, had a "new" 18 month contract due to a change of package (even though I'd been with them for 6 years previously) because they don't seem to do 12 month ones any more - but also had to move to a place where there was no Virgin coverage, I wouldn't mind but it was a new estate so I've no idea why they didn't cable up the place during construction.

Douglas Adams was right, ish... Super-Earth world clocked orbiting 'nearby' Barnard's Star

Frontier Elite 2

Its times like this why I fire up Frontier Elite 2 (now playable in a web browser at https://www.myabandonware.com/game/frontier-elite-ii-22i/play-22i )

My star system information says that its a stable system with 10 bodies, the largest being Barnards Star 3 - 2.14 Earth masses, but with a methane weather system and corrosive atmosphere, surface temperature -149'c.

Don't get THAT personal, says personalised cards firm Moonpig. Dick pics. They mean dick pics

Moonpig are rubbish

I sent them a brilliant animated GIF for a card. Did it get printed animated? Did it bugger.

UK.gov finally adds Galileo and Copernicus to the Brexit divorce bill

£350 million a week

I'll tell you something for nothing, the NHS ain't going to see a penny of that "£350 million a week", it'll all be needed on all the other stuff we'll now have to pay or pay more for.

It may be poor man's Photoshop, but GIMP casts a Long Shadow with latest update

Serif PhotoPlus

A nice compromise for those who struggle with Photoshop, don't like the Gimp and lament the good old days of PSP

Somerset boozer prepares to declare its inn-dependence from UK

Piel Island

IIRC the Ship Inn at Piel Island in Morecambe Bay is similar

http://www.pielisland.co.uk/

ZX Spectrum Vega+ blows a FUSE: It runs open-source emulator

Sir Clive's health

"Why Sir Clive Sinclair’s corporate shareholder in RCL, Sinclair Research Ltd, has not intervened is a source of ongoing confusion"

According to RCL:

"It is no secret that Sir Clive Sinclair has been in poor health for some considerable time. Over this extended period, the current board of Retro Computers Limited have sought to support him at every opportunity in both his professional and private life. Having shared a personal friendship with some of the current board spanning several decades. It is with much sadness that we announce that it has reached a point where Sir Clive no longer looks after his own day to day affairs, and as his advisors have pointed out he has not been "doing much directing lately"."

UK.gov to tech industry: Hands up who can help cut teachers' admin

The tech already exists

Thanks to Edugeek and other groups for powers that be in school, such as deputy heads and business managers who make the decisions, discussion on existing tech to make teachers lives easier is already in place.

The tech already exists - behavioral and classroom progress trackers, & online homework systems, are easier than they've ever been, and seamlessly link with the schools MIS already in place.

We in our respective groups mentioned above, discuss these systems - which ones are fantastic and which ones are rubbish.

The problem is that teachers don't have the time to use these systems.

New Zealand school on naughty step after ransomware failure

"the school has disconnected its network while it works out what to do."

Restore from last night's backup?

Relive your misspent, 8-bit youth on the BBC's reopened Micro archive

BBC Telesoftware

http://teletext.mb21.co.uk/gallery/ceefax/telesoftware/

Please tighten your passwords and assume the brace position, says plane-tracking site

Panic

A couple of years back, my assistant's OH was off to the US from the UK. It was her first ever trip on a plane and she was scared, and he was a little apprehensive too.

I suggested he put the Flightradar website on his workstation's second screen so he could watch the flight progress through the day.

I can still see the picture of horror on his face when he saw the plane had turned around some way across the Atlantic and was slowly returning to Ireland to land and he had no way of knowing what was up until it landed and she called (faulty air conditioner in the cabin).

Brit drone biz Sensat notches up 29km remote-control flight

hot air balloons

Amazon need to go really old school - hot air balloons with parachutes attached to the parcels. I'd happily drift around the district all day dropping stuff by 'chute.

1,300 customers of Brit bank TSB defrauded due to botched IT migration

It says a lot

If phishers can get your account details and get into your account quicker than you can

Finally, San Francisco cleans up the crap from its streets – yes, all those fscking scooters

Re: 50cc Motorised Bicycles

Electric bikes: licensing, tax and insurance

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules