Posts by Roland6 14364 publicly visible posts • joined 23 Apr 2010
I suspect many have forgotten the spat of Busines Process Improvement/Transformation contracts signed in the mid 1990s. Basically, the BPI waas going to so assively improve things, the vendors were signing contracts based on sharing the cost savings achieved from the BPI project. Trouble was no one bothered to do the leg work and create a valid baseline, that included not only work actually being achieved but work that should be getting done. Several projects I has sight of there were no "savings", only interesting notes in the council minutes: "for the first time in n years we have been able to do a council tax reminder mail shot and follow up", "the backlog of applicatiopns has been reduced and the council is now processing applications within its SLA..."
But I suspect those leading the AI charge don't reember and so ay well be prepared to sign up to shoulder the project costs and take a slice of the head count savings...
>” Okay. So what does that mean?”
From the various articles, I suggest currently Linus is saying AI has a role in the analysis of code for bugs.
I sus-ext there has been no change to his stance on code contributions to the kernel: these have to be made by named individual.So as far is Linus is concerned, you are welcome to use an AI to produce code for submission, but it is your name a reputation that is on the line.
Not had cause to investigate compilers in recent years, but in the past it was common for compiler makers (eg. Microsoft) to differentiate between “private” usage of the compiler’s output and “commercial” (ie. Resale) of the compiler’s output output, demanding a higher fee if you were using the compiler’s output output to produce a software product for sale.
>” I've had Deepseek write a device driver skeleton that was perfect 1st time”
It wasn’t that long ago achieving this was a simple cut-and-paste from a reference. The hard part was adapting the skeleton code to your specific requirements and then adding the “flesh” to convert the generic skeleton to a device driver for your specific device.
>” Even ESU looks like a subscription for W10 without having to squint too much.”
It does look like with W10 ESU, Microsoft has solved the problem of how you differentiate between enrolled machines and not enrolled machines.
I seem to remember this was an issue MS claimed prevented them from offering Extended Support to XP users…
So agree it is just a small step to turn free ESU into subscription ESU and then into subscription beyond 1yr “warranty”…
>” If W12 adopts the subscription model there's no point in putting in H/W obstacles”
Whilst I agree, can’t see MS being like the AV vendors and continue to support out of support Windows platforms…
Aside: it would be interesting to see the platform data MS has accrued - they should know the user populations of each and every CPU running Windows, memory etc. so support can be readily targeted to those platforms actually being used.
>” The hardware cost increase has properly bitten my employer on the arse.”
Just brought a new laptop for a friend. To calibrate my choice I took my current Lenovo laptop and using Passmark selected a current model with a similar multi-thread and single-thread performance rating. My laptop cost circa £800 in 2020, today’s equivalent is circa £1,800; inflation on its own should only have caused the price to increase to £1,045…
>” I don't know any business that's running unpatched internet connected Windows 10 machines.”
I have come across unpatched laptops and workstations, with automatic updates enabled and controlled by the organisation.
The user had either simply kept pressing the “do later “ button, and/or shut the system down so it never ran during out-of-hours and so the scheduled update never happened. The system then got so far behind, the update to W11 took priority and so seemed to halt the W10 auto update process including the application of security fixes. I even had one system where because the version of W10 on it was so old it had gone out of support and hence required a manual upgrade to the supported version.
My partners work laptop W11 is currently not updating because it was setup with a Bios/firmware admin password, which she naturally doesn’t have and hence updates fail because the system isn’t running the correct version of the IMT etc.
Lesson: You need to actively manage your estate - whilst tools like Panda Cloud Security do provide reports and hence can make the problem more manageable, you do need to actually visit problematic machines and users and force a install updates reboot…
>” and fully expect Microsoft to squeeze the user base with a forced migration to windows 12 in another year or two.”
I fully expect W12 to require a specific set of AI capable hardware. Ie. I don’t expect being able to run W11 as being sufficient for W12..
Given, based on past performance, MS should be announcing W12 in late 2026 with launch in autumn 2027, I’m in no hurry to upgrade working W10 systems with ESU to W11 just because that’s what MS want.
The problems aren’t unique to W10 and W11, we’ve had them with every Windows upgrade: vendor stops supporting old product, but supports new product which uses a significant amount of code from the old product.
It’s a problem that bedevils all products including open source and Linux; just that currently these aren’t the main focus of the criminals, given the mono-culture like deployment of Windows across most sectors.
>” the existing parental controls on the devices you buy and hand to your kids”
I would hope they are. Significantly better now than they were a few years back when I had cause to,investigate:
Xbox - generally good, but due to the (designed) security setup of the Xbox, my son could easily disable them (from his limited account, use browser to visit the Xbox management console, wait a few minutes and Xbox will automatically login as administrator.
Android: Gave up Set up as adult phone with password needed to install apps.
IOS: Just as problematic as Android, plus with family there was no block/limit on child spend against adult bank card…. So best set up as an adult phone with password needed to install apps.
Windows:…
Naturally, all different in the controls provided and the way they were configured. So easiest solution was computer and Xbox in the lounge, not the bedroom.
> I keep my passport valid as any international travel I might do would likely be last minute.
Agree, it’s a reason why my teenagers got a full adult passport as their “18th birthday present” (*), it has enabled them to travel independently around Europe without incurring the problems associated with attempting unaccompanied travel on a child passport.
At the time of renewal they had no plans to travel, but with university, friends and new jobs, it was highly likely they would want/need to travel.
(*) along with roaming restrictions removed from their phone’s and an increased extra’s spend limit to allow them to EU roam for a month
The only thing we failed to achieve was the full driving licence before they went to uni. Due to CoVid, so currently dad’s taxi service is rather important.
[UK]: For U18 ie. “Minors”, the child passport will be linked to the parent/guardian, so it is the parent who is making the declarations on the assumption-tion they know their child. Plus if the pictures are obviously of the same child it will pass Passport Office checks. A good “trick” is to renew a child passport in the year before their 18th birthday, as then they get a full adult passport, with less hassle than if they do after their 18th birthday…
It is going to be an interesting issue: do you pay someone $4.3m Pa with them paying for their use of AI, or paying them at rates aligned with current developer pay and the business incurs the highly variable cost of AI.
I think the stage is getting set for some companies to be burnt and potentially bankrupted by poor use and management of AI costs.
What is going to be interesting, is the extent to which MS is actively vulnerability scanning the W10 code base and releasing fixes.
As if properly managed, fully patched W10 in 1~2 years could be reasonably secure. Add on top an up to date browser with real-time web security and messaging clients (eg. Email, chat, social media, etc.) and you’ve probably got a system that, in part due to the lack of further updates is reasonably secure.
Agree, whilst my preference was for WS2019 Std (*), getting hold of “affordable” licences seems (from my experience) to be much harder these last couple of years, whereas 22/25 have been more readily available and affordable.
Basically, with the uncertainty originating from Redmond, it does seem the best we can do is buy some time and seriously look at alternatives to Windows; with all the knock on effects that willl have on the family and the family support service.
(*) For most end user desktop uses, STD is sufficient. However, if you will be wanting to run up lots of concurrent Windows VM’s DE is a better buy.
My circa 2020 Lenovo laptop fully supports WS2019 and drivers can be downloaded from Lenovo.
So we potentially have 5 years of MS extending W10 consumer ESU, since MS are already incurring patch development costs.
a relevant question is whether MS are rolling back the platform requirements for W12, so that it can run on W10 compatible hardware, given we can expect the production of cheap consumer equipment to cease and business grade equipment to more than double in price compared to September 2025 prices.
Thinking about the statement "Microsoft has warned customers to expect more security patches for the foreseeable future, thanks to AI.", it does imply that MS are going to need more skilled developers if it is to significantly increase the number of (fully thought through and tested) patches it releases each month. Which given the redundancy announcements doesn't seem likely, so those "patches" will have to have been AI generated.
Which leads us to an interesting conclusion: MS et all know that AI doesn't really work and produces slop, but if people are prepared to pay top dollar for slop ....
>"Rare earths aren't really worth much as scrap"
Say that to the people who have had the cat' removed from their car....
I suspect the problem is a bit chicken-and-egg - they aren't worth very much until there are no questions asked scrap recycling services for rare earths.
Back in my childhood, we used to collect the lead weights then used to balance car wheels and which had a tendency to fall off (due to the way they were attached to the wheel), every few months we took a bucket to the local scrap merchant - nice bit of pocket money....
Some years back I oversaw the demerger of a UK business from its multi-national “owner”.
The client was so small, SAP weren’t interested and could offer no tools to help move from SAP’s large enterprise offering to its SME,offering, so we moved off SAP to a third-party ERP who did have the tools and experience of moving people off SAP… we achieved full independence with only a few days left on the interim former parent’s IT systems usage agreement.
>” Most kids of parents in this enterprises own bugger all”
From what I experienced, the new child organisation typically only owned the physical IT equipment, physically located in their premises, which wasn’t subject to lease arrangements. Even seemingly simple things like MS volume licensing was problematic. (From memory, the client could continue to use existing licences, but add new systems or re-image a system…).
A reason why I objected to HS2, to build it properly needed a realistic budget, not bargain basement price the politicians wanted. Plus for the politicians to not interfere. Remember it is the politicians desire to cut costs and corners that is the reason HS1 (London-Folkestone) is so compromised.
>” TL:DR, sometimes all that's really needed is a few things to get rid of bottlenecks. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.”
I suspect because of the stupidity of having to get between Euston and St.Pancreas, many will still fly Birmingham-Paris (red eye) rather than take HS2-HS1… If services ever reach Glasgow or even Manchester, I expect the absence of a non-stop sleeper service will be even more of an issue…
>” or a more pragmatic version should have been developed North to South”
My pitch (well before Brexit) was for a HS1-London-Cardiff-Dublin-Belfast(*) service. The laugh was the Welsh and Irish sections would have attracted EU development funding.
(*) unfortunately the nature of the north channel makes extension to Scotland very expensive, but not impossible.
> (in large part thanks to the NIMBY's)
You really need to listen to the BBC podcast Derailed. Basically, the politicians hobbled the project by wanting a super-duper new shiny at a bargain basement price.
TPTB thought they were being clever by having a Hybrid Bill, only problem was having put all the stuff in the hybrid bill and signed it off it had to deliver the stuff agreed even though events such as tunnelling rendered many originally envisaged mitigations unnecessary. Much of the civil engineering is necessary because of the decision to go for a 400km/h trackbed which requires a concrete base and be more of a straight line than a 300km/h trackbed as used on HS1.
My opinion was the original price was way too low, as it not only made many assumptions (it included only a 300km/h trackbed, next to no tunnelling, minimal budget for land purchasing, plus it didn't satisfy many of the governments mandatory requirements, hence the project always was going to go over "budget". From the rough back-of-the-envelope calculations I did, it seems HS2 is due to come at around the same amount as if the entire London-Birmingham line had been tunnelled... So set against that budget it is not doing badly...
My partner uses the typing without engaging brain password generator, if she’s on the iPad, she will most likely get the iPad to remember it, otherwise next time she visits the site it will be the “forgotten my password” routine which as you note can be construed to be a form of MFA…
As the kids will have hijacked it, you can expect to fail the challenges…
>” There are plenty of security practices that are seen as outdated by those who are knowledgeable”
Yet journalists continue perpetuate the mistaken belief.
Periodically I see WiFi security articles written in the last decade which still advise the hiding of a WiFi network’s name (SSID); a practise that had been debunked prior to 2006…
