Posts by Roland6

What you need to know about Microsoft Windows 11: It will run Android apps

Re: What . . . why?

>TPM 2 devices have extra memory locations that can store a set of SHA1 hashes between boots. Perhaps some form of hardware fingerprint?

Makes sense for MS to want to store Windows licence/activation keys in the TPM.

UK urged to choo-choo-choose hydrogen-powered trains in pursuit of carbon-neutral economic growth

>Probably a good idea

Forgetting the lessons of the APT which used gas turbines...

Re: No all electric

>Could the catenary be lowered and raised quickly enough for momentum to carry the train past a bridge?

Do the math for a train running at over 100mph plus add in the certainty that the technology will fail...

Actually, a big issue isn't so much the pantograph, but allowing sufficient air gap to minimise earth bridging etc. of the overhead cable.

>Oh, we can electrify lines alright. The issue as the article says is the economic feasibility of doing so.

Well exhibit number 1: Midland mainline electrification:

There was a business case that showed that the electrification project would both be completed and pay for itself in under 10 years due in a large part to savings associated with the maintenance and operation of ageing diesel trains.

The UK government decided that this didn't provide a satisfactory return on investment and instead decided to rush ahead with HS2.

Subsequently, they decided the Midland mainline would benefit from the electrification of the London end of the line (ie. commuter services) and having to operate diesel/electric trains.

Last year Network Rail finally said they want to electrify the northern half of the line by 2050.

So whilst a few decades back we were able to electrify the West Coast Mainline in its entirety, I suggest that is no longer the case.

Likewise, with the government (and major political parties) backing HS2, the likelihood of a rail project going ahead is inversely proportional to the economic feasibility and viability.

Treaty of Roam finally in ashes: O2 cracks, joins rivals, adds data roaming charges for heavy users in EU

Re: Ummm..

>EE looks to be the only one introducing new charges, and that's only for new contracts.

That is probably because their new 5G contracts have much higher data limits...

Re: As Soon As They Could...

>So dear Brexiter the burden is on you to prove your claim.

Whilst also not contradicting the other Brexiteer claim: "it was part of Project Fear and that our good British operators would never go back on their non-imposition of roaming charges."

Re: Hardly a surprise

>"Even if it was only £1, our policy is that you don't use roaming data on your work phone except in business emergencies. What was the emergency?"

Volcano erupting in Iceland so all flights cancelled?...

Re: Colour me surprised

And now it's the pesky EU punishing the UK for leaving their club...

/sarcasm

Re: Really don't care

>The other factor in establishing agreements is that the number of inbound roamers must be similar to the outbound roamers to make it quid pro quo.

Not sure about that...

Back in the late 1990's there were many more people roaming into Ireland than were roaming outside - for at least one Irish mobile operator, it was the difference between being able to grow and struggling to survive.

Re: Really don't care

I suppose as a 'newly' soverign nation, having to stand in the queue at the airport for a SIM

Dear user,

Please self-isolate for 5 days as another person in the airport phone queue has tested CoViD positive.

UK health secretary Matt Hancock follows delay to GP data grab with campaign called 'Data saves lives'

Re: Some musings on GPDPR

"Opt out to support the NHS"

Should be on the sides of buses, billboards etc..

Re: Mess

I would be interested to know what the NHS expectation is.

I suspect part of the problem I encountered was down to the switch from handwritten records held by a doctors surgery to online records (line drawn to limited data load), combined with switching doctors several times over the years.

Re: Mess

Were your records complete?

I ask as sometime back, namely, when my daughter was born, I was told that they only retained records for 30 years, which meant that my entire childhood was missing. The impact of this was that they no longer had records that were highly relevant to treating myself and could be relevant to the treatment of my children, given they have inherited (in part) my immune system.

What is thus interesting about the current data grab proposal is that we can expect the new data repositories to not cull data and thus have over time build up a more complete picture of someones medical history than their GP...

Wanted: Brexit grand fromage. £120k a year. Perks? Hmmmm…

Re: Great Position/Opportunity

>"you play by the rules, but we do what we like because we're sovereign."

Sounds very much like the EU playbook.

Selective observation I see, it is part of the UK's and US's playbook with respect to international treaties etc. witnessed most recently at the G7 Summit...

Re: Great Position/Opportunity

@codejunky

I think you are missing the point.

This would be the Great British Union and Great British Market, that will work to Great British Rules of Fairness ie. you play by the rules, but we do what we like because we're sovereign.

But you are probably right, the Conservatives, over many years, have demonstrated their ability to cock things up and then compound matters...

Re: Is one of the

> This is a wonderful opportunity. I should be able to do this from here, which means that I can still do my current job

You don't actually specify where 'here' is, would I be wrong to assume it might be outside of the UK? somewhere like Moscow...

Re: Great Position/Opportunity

Doesn't say can't start negotiations for the EU to join the UK...

Re: BBC

Boris' Brexit Champion

Nominet is back to 'the same old sh*t' says Public Benefit campaign chief as EGM actions grind to halt

Re: Nominet's handing of EGM voting data to a market research agency, Savanta

"mundate..." For some strange reason, this reminds me of the NHS doctor's patient records data grab.

Windows 11: Meet the new OS, same as the old OS (or close enough)

Re: Was going to be Windows 10 forever?

Yes, the continued support for 32-bit applications running on a 64-bit Windows distribution is an interesting question. Particularly, as MS have had 64-bit distributions of their products for some years now. Also be careful about using "Win32 API" remember there has been 64-bit version around for some years that is colloquially referred to as Win32 API, even though MS would rather people called it the Win64 API or even WinRT...

However, it would not surprise me if MS doesn't offer a W11 in a 32-bit distribution; thus leaving the 32-bit architecture support to niche products such as ArcaOS and various Linux & BSD distributions.

Re: Was going to be Windows 10 forever?

Yes Windows 11 effectively allows MS to end of life Windows 32-bit. ie. Windows 10 32-bit

Which is what I should have said instead of 32-bit processors/motherboards.

Re: Was going to be Windows 10 forever?

> the main advantage is being able to declare Windows 10 EOL and, therefore, no longer be obliged to provide updates.

I suspect the real advantage will be to finally drop such things as: 32-bit processor etc. support, a whole bunch of CPU's that don't support various hardware attributes now considered essential, remove support for a load of 'old' devices, printers etc.

'Google is present at almost all levels of the supply chain' for online ads: It's time for a competition probe, says EU

Re: Really ?

One imagines that without Google.advertising stuff would still be getting sold.

FTFY

It should still be possible to advertise (online) without paying Google. Google are merely using the fact that they dominate the market and thus are used by thousands of European businesses as the rationale as to why they are essential and thus should be left alone to continue to build their monopoly...

Poltergeist attack could leave autonomous vehicles blind to obstacles – or haunt them with new ones

Re: Automation

>ACC is there so that in dense traffic you can set the cruise control and if the vehicle in front slows by a bit you don't have to keep changing the CC settings, it's adaptive.

It's adaptive, but also dumb...

The current generation of ACC is of no help on the M42 (and stretches of the M1) with its dynamic variable speed limit.

I'm also concerned that you are allowing yourself to be distracted by having to manually set the ACC, something you may be doing many times in a journey.

Re: Automation

>Stopped traffic is a rather peculiar situation - most current systems don’t deal with it.Stopped traffic is a rather peculiar situation - most current systems don’t deal with it.

But also a very common situation on UK roads and motorways...

Re: Automation

>So you think it’s easier to keep aware of all the vehicles around you when you also have to look away from said other vehicles.

If your driving properly, you are looking away from individual vehicles around you all the time.

Actually, you'll find the essential instruments and warning indicators are statically positioned to be easily read with a quick glance...

>I do hope your disdain for driver aids extends..

No my disdain is for those aids that don't actually aid me, but take awareness and decision-making control away.

Years back I used cruise control on UK motorways, found it either meant I was doing less and so was more easily bored or it got in the way of responding to traffic conditions.

More recently, I've driven cares with lane awareness, similarly, I've found it got in the way of good driving more than being of assistance.

One of the helpful features of some systems is that they do (mostly) recognise the correct speed limit, so when on unfamiliar roads, this reminder is helpful.

So having driven a Volvo S60 2012 (with all the safety features) no I don't confuse cruise control, lane assist and other technologies that take over the driving with real driving aids such as servo assisted brakes, ABS, power steering, steering column mounted levers for windscreen wipers, lights etc. that only come into effect as and when I choose.

>And as for the significant number of cars that will brake *for you* if they detect that you came off the throttle and went onto the brake very suddenly

Actually, a more important consideration is detecting that the car in front has started to slow and that you need to slow and potentially slam your brakes on.

Re: Similar Attacks Work Against Humans

>I'm sure that if (ever) vehicles are fully autonomous that carjackers and griefers will have a field day with them.

I'm sure local teenagers looking for some fun will more than outnumber carjacker and griefers...

>I want tests for when it rains, when it pours, when it snows, and when the road markings haven't been refreshed in 20 years.

I suggest, given the substantive contents of the article to include tests for noise and whether the car behaves differently when the passengers are listening to Guns'n'Roses compared to Bob Dylan for example...

Re: Automation

>Given that most people can’t or won’t concentrate enough to drive safely anyway…

I use cruise control constantly, did even before I became disabled. Did it hinder concentration - no.

Reads as if you are speaking from personal experience, also like most people (and know I sometimes do it myself) you are over-estimating your abilities.

>Driving is already hard enough without having to monitor dials as well.

Dials (and knobs, switches and buttons) are easy compared to the multi-function touch displays much liked these days. I suggest if you are finding them difficult you may wish to assess whether you are actually fit to drive.

What Microsoft's Windows 11 will probably look like

Re: Just

>I say linux gives me grief; under Windows 10 audio latency has increased enormously

I seem to remember that one of the reasons for Android was that standard Unix/Linux wasn't up to the job of handling the real-time demands of voice processing and mobile communications. It would seem with high quality audio you are hitting similar barriers - perhaps the time has come for an Android style Linux desktop/laptop fork .

What is going to be interesting is what happens in the coming year - there is a clear and user noticeable difference between Zoom from a iPad/iPhone (video and audio quality) and a typical laptop with 720p HD webcam. I would hope that laptop manufacturers will step up and start supplying sub £1K laptops with 1080p HD webcam and decent noise cancelling mic and audio playback, however, suspect this would cripple many low end platforms.

Re: But is it better than Window 7?

>Win10 is the least configurable GUI since Win 3.0

However, with Win 3.0 you could easily replace Program Manager with a third-party desktop manager; hence why MS then tightly bound the desktop into the OS for W95...

Interestingly, if MS reverted and followed Unix/Linux then they could release new desktop shells whenever they wanted without forcing users to 'upgrade'.

As per W10 expect some settings to ONLY be available via an application.

For example: The only place you can actually get Windows to recognise the webcam as being colour and not monochrome is in the Skype settings. Useful to know if Windows decides your new laptop only has a monochrome webcam when you know a colour camera is installed.

>I'm sure lots of people agree that Windows 7 was the last usable version.

However, it only became 'usable' due to Vista...

From what I remember, it was still a big step from XP, where most users were upgrading from.

Interestingly, seeing the new W11 'widgets' made me think of the widgets initially shipped with W7 and for which MS rapidly dropped.

>If I used it I probably would because I expect it takes a little more screen estate

What????

Chrome on W7 has 'rounded' corners on a 'standard' 1366x768 laptop screen the saving over a square corner is 6 pixels max. and allowing for shading probably only 3.

To me a much bigger and more useful change has been that MS have finally enabled vertical tabs in Edge; although they still insist on a horizontal Favourites bar. Whilst it doesn't 'save' screen estate, it does enable me to better use the HD screen estate for real work.

>I think you got it backwards: Forget the Linux users...

But if Office worked on Linux, MS wouldn't need Windows for business users...

Interestingly, it would make a huge differentiator between MS business products and MS consumer/home product lines. For Windows MS could either re-introduce Works or just force consumers to use Microsoft 365 online (ie. browser version of Office) only.

Tech contractor loses IR35 tribunal appeal: 'Right' to substitute didn't mean he could, say judges

Re: I'm going to go out on a limb...

> but I have no problem with anything up to 30% uplift for contractors doing the same job

I bet you also have no problem with an SI charging your employer 4~8x the perm rate for your job for a 'consultant'(*) with similar or even lesser experience - yet the SI won't be paying NI & PAYE on that uplift...

(*) Been that consultant...

I remember at school being in the receiving end of people's envy, we were all going to University, I however, filled in a couple of application forms and attended some interviews and got sponsored. People were really upset that I was being paid to study (and a job guarantee on graduation), but totally failed to appreciate that their lack of funds was wholly down to them not filling out the relevant application forms...

Re: Substitution?

>HMRC stated that they will not accept any arrangement that has been created to avoid tax.

Yet seem to be quite happy about the thousands of offshore umbrella companies...

Yes, the 'employee' might be paying full UK tax on their earnings, however their earnings are what's left after the agency and the umbrella company's administrator have taken their fees, the scale of these offshoring operations would seem to indicate there are worthwhile UK tax savings to be made by the agencies and administrators...

Re: Substitution?

>If your consultancy specialises in small business, you will likely be fine,

Remember IR35 is on a per client-basis, so you can have projects that HMRC deem to be inside running concurrently with projects that are outside of IR35...

But yes, if you only engage with small businesses and provide a service (which all your examples are) you should be deemed to be outside of IR35.

Re: Yet another push for us to all go work at Tesco

I see ratcatcher you have zero understanding of the matter:

I expect that contractor you label as a "tax dodger" is paying more UK tax than the SI's much liked by government.

If the contractor is worth £450 pday (before agency fee's), I suggest the SI's will be charging circa over £1,000 pday for the same person. The SI's won't be paying NI & PAYE on the slice of fee's they retain after paying their employee.

So the tax dodgers you are actually subsidising are the large SI's...

Re: Yet another push for us to all go work at Tesco

However, if you've been a really good boy and paid a lot into your pension...

Three million job cuts coming at Indian services giants by next year, says Bank of America

Re: More and more profit for less and less people

>In the current recipients' lifetime, yes.

Not so sure...

However, it will be sustained until either they retire due to age or amassed monies and thus becomes someone else's problem.

Mensa data spillage was due to 'unauthorised internal download'

Are we shooting the wrong party?

Whilst the website that got compromised was owned by Mensa, I wonder if we should in fact be pointing a finger at the website development businesses, in this case GWS Media.

I anticipate Mensa have zero knowledge about the details of their website, leaving the implementation details to the experts. So it will have been the experts who decided to write or re-use off-the-shelf packages and or components that implemented user account credential management. So if user account passwords were stored in the clear on Mensa's website, there is a good chance they will also be in the clear in almost any other website developed by this specific website development business and if they are using COTS packages and libraries then websites developed by others using these packages and components will similarly be open to exploitation...

Of all the analytics firms in the world, why is Palantir getting its claws into UK health data?

The "hippies" have never held power in the UK, the closest they've ever got is: 1 MP, 2 members of the HoL and a few dozen councillors.

As so many people work away from the office, Wi-Fi 6E is perfectly timed for connected homes, other wireless apps

congestion in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands

Whilst there has been an increase in the number of devices people are wanting to connect, I suspect the biggest cause of congestion is the hubs supplied by the major operators.

In the 2.4Ghz band, they persist in only using 3 channels when (outside of the US) there are four decent channels and with modern MIMO radio design a greater level of overlap is possible without incurring a significant increase in the error rate.

Additionally, I see hubs such as the BT/EE Smart Hub limiting the 5Ghz band to 4 channels.

So I anticipate these devices will similarly limit access and thus effective utilization of the 6Ghz band to 4 non-overlapping channels...

Interestingly, the simplest way to increase available WiFi bandwidth in thehome is to install multiple AP's, just like businesses...

Amazon exec's husband jailed for two years for insider trading. Yes, with Amazon stock

Re: Being a high-roller is a lot of fun

but To assume that the wife Let it happen rather than the husband overcame The wife's reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy

Whilst I agree, there is some unavoidable information leakage, I think getting "copies of Amazon's confidential financial figures from his wife" would indicate the wife wasn't making "reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy".

We don't know why it's there, we don't know what it does – all we know is that the button makes everything OK again

Missing something

"I traced the cable from the serial port on the VAX, through a patch panel, under the floor and up to the plotter, completely avoiding the magical beige box."

And what was the magical box attached to?

I wonder if the magical beige box was an early and more up-market variant of the household power saver...

Re: Dummy thermostats

>yet most architectural consultants still make the same mistake over and over again...

That's because they don't tend to use the buildings they design.

I'm sure if architects had to live in a modern "rabbit hutch", their usability would massively increase.

Also builders need to take some of the blame: just because you've always installed light switches 4~5 feet off the floor doesn't mean that is the most usable - 3~4 feet (back of the hand height for a typical adult) is much more accessible for young children and wheelchair users.

Back in the early 90's I got ribbed by an electrician friend for rewiring the house (well it needed doing anyway) just so that the light switches and power sockets were accessible, he changed his tune when he visited and actually used the services to do the work I wasn't qualified to do.

Re: Dummy thermostats

>Because people apparently don't understand how thermostats work.

And because people don't understand that their sense of hot/cold is independent of the actual room temperature.

BT promises firmware update for Mini Whole Home Wi-Fi discs to prevent obsessive Big Tech DNS lookups

Pixelated Paula

Now we know why Pixelated Paula's broadband suddenly started to fail, she had installed BT Home WiFi discs...

Network managers think you're coming back to the office. Why else did they go on a Wi-Fi 6 buying spree?

Over lockdown, I had two office upgrades from 1990's cabling to Cat6/6a. With clear desks and not having to work around people the job got done a lo quicker.

The WiFi element of each was perhaps more significant than the fixed network - one organisation going from mainly desk-based and a few laptops and iPad to 40+ laptops and 80+ iPads plus phones, all of which would be expected to connect via WiFi.

My assumption here is similar, yes people will be going back to the office, but will be using the laptops etc. they have been given to work from home, hence the need for improved WiFi.