Posts by Roland6

Why did automakers stall while the PC supply chain coped with a surge? Because Big Tech got priority access

Re: Everything needs intelligence these days, except my Harley.

>imagine only having to do the driving at the two ends, both approached by a completely fresh motorist

I was doing that in the 1980's: drive to station, catch overnight sleeper, collect rental car and drive to client's site...

I think part of the problem is that we get used to convenience... Back in the 1960's I went on a family holiday to Wales, this required trunks to be packed and transported to the railway station etc.

Before lockdown I took my family on holiday to Wales, this time we simply loaded all our stuff into the car on the drive and shared the driving...

Re: Everything needs intelligence these days, except my Harley.

>Only because driving isn't properly licensed...

Don't see strict licence enforcement making as big a difference as you may think. If anything it might make matter worse...

"The number of road deaths in the UK has plateaued since 2012 at around 1,850 deaths a year"

https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/uk-road-safety

Which would seem to indicate that the increasing amounts of surveillance (£) on our roads we've witnessed in recent years have not resulted in an appreciable improvement in the death and casualty rates...

>Get rid of the nut behind the wheel and we'll all be much safer.

Perhaps, however, if they are behind the wheel, they aren't doing something else - like trying to have a picnic on the roof of their self-driving Tesla...

Re: "a lot of power merely amplifies mistakes"

>for the first five years, a driver should not be allowed to drive anything with more than 80 horsepower

Some years back now there was a tragic road accident near where I lived, the young driver proved that even something as under-powered as their mother's about town Renault 5 (circa 55 bhp) could under the right conditions, even with a full complement of other young people squeezed in, fly...

unfortunately for them and the other people in the car it hit a large immoveable item of street furniture...

Re: Everything needs intelligence these days, except my Harley.

>If I'd had that 20 years ago, my roommates would not have lost a mail box.

And you won't have learnt a lesson about vehicle length and judging distances...

Re: Everything needs intelligence these days, except my Harley.

>Assisted driving tools, like lane change monitoring, separation distance management, and the general build up of driving monitors saves lives.

I think you will find we are now mostly into the marginal gains era of saving lives...

Furthermore, from the reports from the self-driving cars trials, we are moving into the era where the life-saving devices themselves are actually adding to the danger by further enhancing driver boredom...

We are also seeing problems with pedestrian aware vehicles - people get used to stepping out in front of them, only to discover they've actually stepped out in front of a traditional vehicle...

This same effect has been recorded on UK streets, where councils have removed most of the warning signs and road markings that were put in to warn drivers about some hazard because they were obscuring the hazard and causing drivers to be distracted as they tried to read all the signs and seen a decrease in the number accidents at that spot...

TCP alternative QUIC reaches IETF's Standards Track after eight years of evolution

Re: Ready salted packets

>but background images? Many other images? A lot of it is nice but not essential, so UDP should be OK for them; if they get lost, oh well.

Those are the most important parts that must not be lost - think of the lost ad revenue!

I hope with QUIC webpages will be able to load without having to wait for all the bloat that turns 3k of content into 70MB from 50+ sources.

Re: IPv6

QUIC isn't dependent upon IPv6, so given the momentum behind it, it is likely to become a very real part of your everyday Internet experience (if it isn't already) much sooner than IPv6...

UK's BT starts trials of new hollow-core optical fibre networks

Re: Frickin' lasers

>T1 was twisted pair copper...

In the 80's T1 over fibre was created and was used to replace copper in the telco backbone.

BT similarly began the upgrade of its core copper network to fibre...

Re: Scattering

My query arose more from two considerations. Firstly, considering the production of hollow-core fibre - something I remember seeing demonstrated in the late 1980s, where the filament production process would naturally lead to a hollow-core with potentially near-zero air content.

I guess a reason to not advertise it as actually having a vacuum, is that given the typical amount of splicing and termination, maintaining the vacuum will be expensive and problematic, although Knudsen diffusion might assist in long lengths. So performance could be better than light passing through the air.

The second consideration was a little frivolous, namely one of the user groups that will be interested in

sub-millisecond speed improvements would be financial traders. So whilst they would appreciate the big improvement over solid glass fibre, they would still see the window that might allow someone else to beat them to a trade...

Re: Scattering

If latency really is that important, why not go the whole way and ensure the hollow-core is a reasonable vacuum...

NHS GP data grab: Royal College of General Practitioners urges health body to communicate better

Re: Isn't there a law against that?

Note the omission of any mention of permitting (US?) businesses looking at the data with the intent of offering privatised NHS services...

Re: Right to opt out

>"all patients have a right to opt out"

"The RCGP and the BMA, the UK doctors' union, have been working with the NHS on planning the new collection of data over the past three years through their Joint GP IT Committee. "

So even before the UK had left the EU, the Government and others had decided to ride roughshod over GDPR and the requirement for a positive opt in...

Ganja believe it? Police make hash of suspected weed farm raid, pot Bitcoin mine instead

Re: As a local ...

>From the photo that East Midlands Police released it looks like 100ish Antminer S9 ASICs

Photo's: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-57280115

Looks like they spent some time getting the air con setup right, shame about the cabling

...

Intel finds a couple more 11th-gen Core chips, one hits 5.0GHz in laptops

Re: meh

That's because you brought well back then...

The only issue I've encountered with my old laptops (after scrapping all the 32-bit only ones) is RAM, many are now max'ed out with 8GB...

Desktop renaissance? Nope, rebound of hefty PCs is just because there's notebook shortage – analysts

> Considering the number of people who live with family in a small place and may have two people working from home full time, there are many who won't have convenient dedicated locations to work and will use some other room.

Tell me about it! :)

Have 4 working from home, interestingly, the two teenagers found space for a (small form factor) desktop and large monitor - by tidying up their bedrooms. My partner by taking over my desk, so I was relegated to the kitchen table :)

>Many of the hordes don't have multiple 4K monitor setups on their gaming rig in their gaming room. Although I do have a cupboard-under-the-stairs datacenter

So you've got yourself a 4K monitor/tv connected to the datacenter via Displayport/HDMI, a wireless keyboard and mouse and turned the lounge into your office... I don't understand why you are slumming it in the kitchen, or is it the coffee/tea addiction - need to be near kettle...

The server is down, money is not being made, and you want me to fix what?

Re: Tea

Love the first comment: "Quietly edited out of this video: two minutes of waiting for the kettle to boil because I forgot to push the button to start it."

Even experts can be forgetful...

AWS Free Tier, where's your spending limit? 'I thought I deleted everything but I have been charged $200'

Re: Free tears

>You're not monitoring 1 instance and reacting to it, you're monitoring many instances among millions and having to react in a reasonable time.

Your (the Cloud providers) problem, not mine.

If you are too stupid and/or lazy to not effectively instrument and orchestrate your cloud service and real-time integrate it with your billing service then tough, you pick the overspend bill up.

Yes, there might be delays in data hitting the billing system, however, nothing stopping you from implementing mitigations.

I suspect the real problem is that cloud service providers don't want to properly integrate billing as that would increase their overheads, so running lean with approximate billing (in their favour) is the order of the day.

USB-C levels up and powers up to deliver 240W in upgraded power delivery spec

Re: What's this 'USB-C'?

>I think I'd prefer a standard barrel jack configuration for laptops over using USB-C with USB-PC, but whatever incinerates your USB cable, I guess?

The outstanding advantage of the standard barrel jack connector is that there is no confusion as to which port/'hole' it goes into.

I've found that many laptops only have one USB Type-C port that will take the power adaptor; when the laptop has to the casual user an identical USB port in identical positions (last port to the rear next to the screen hinge) on either side of the screen users will plug the power cable into either port and then complain their laptop isn't charging. I 'solved' this problem by the use of magnetic USB adaptors to make it obvious which (USB) port the power adaptor is to be plugged into (it also helps to prolong the life of the port).

I have similar issues with devices that have both USB 2 and USB 3 ports, plug in a USB 3 capable device in a USB 2 port and whilst the message informing me that I should use a different port to get best performance, its of little real help as Windows has proceeded to mount the device and the message gives no assistance (to non-IT users who don't remember the blue tab marking of USB 3 ports) as to which of the other USB ports might be faster.(*)

(*)This raises a question as to whether this new USB standard has introduced new port colour codings...

>USB-C cables are not exactly durable...

Nor are the USB Type-C sockets that some many devices fit these days...

Re: Wow

Read the history of the UK 3-pin plug!

Re: 240W?

Up voted another solution to a problem I've been having with users who have poor grip and so are unable to hold the dimpled plug with sufficient force to remove it from the socket.

I've typically glued a finger handle onto the power adaptor.

Re: I predict excitement

>The ebay ... purchase lottery has already become stacked against you, just as it is with other things-that-look-identical (eg microSD cards)

Just sourced some mPCIe WiFi adaptors and M.2 SSD's - where not only do you have to worry about pins and keys matching, but also the card size fits the laptop and that (in the case of the WiFi adaptor) the chipset used on the card is compatible with your motherboard chipset...

I thought I was intelligent, but am beginning to think I might be a bit thick! :)

Re: Wow

>I would have thought that a 700+ page specification would be a guarantee of thoroughness and reliability...

Given the history of the UK 3-pin plug and socket Standard, the question that has to be asked: how many women were on the committee and had their contributions accepted...

Re: 240W?

>Hey, you must admit that a USB-C power supply would be even more universal if you could also weld with it :).

Somehow I don't think this will happen at 5V

Never tried arc welding with a Durcell AA battery? The arc produced is sufficient to melt solder.

Which would indicate that hot swapping of these new USB-C cables is not to be recommended...

Re: I predict excitement

>The cable tells the power supply what it's capable of.

But not the user...

So we can expect complaints that my super-duper device isn't charging, only to find that the wrong plain black USB cable was selected from the drawer...

Mobile network sleuths rank UK carriers in 5G performance study, including new 'Everyday 5G' category

>but I won't be paying extra to get a 5G data plan as just wouldn't get the benefits.

Currently, EE are promoting 5G data plans: before Christmas a reasonable 4G unlimited calls/text and 4GB was around £25pcm, today they are selling the 5G variant which has 120GB of data for £23pcm and unlimited data for £28pcm...

Microsoft: Behold, at some later date, the next generation of Windows

Re: next generation?

It could be: NeXT Generation, in which case it might be a case of back to the future...

Patch me if you can: Microsoft, Samsung, and Google win appeal over patent on remote updating

Re: Regardless of prior art

>No patch is ever decided by the server to be sent to a remote unit.

Forgertting OTA updates such as those used to update Freeview boxes: the server sends out the update and hopes clients/receipients are listening.

We used a similar system back in the late 80's early 90's to distribute updates and business data to branch networks overnight via satellite and TV transmitter network [In those days TV shutdown overnight so there were hours of transmitter time available for other things.]

Obviously, the low speed (9600 baud modem) link was used to confirm receipt etc.

But being pedantic, you are correct, the client only checked for the presence of a complete update (local cache copy) in its own good time.

Re: in a mobile unit

Had to look that one up - nice obfuscation!

Re: in a mobile unit

"a timing mechanism described in its patent. This allows the host system to pick the remote device that should be prioritised for patching."

This shows the age of the patent, a modern patent would obfuscate this by calling it an AI mechanism.

Tesla owners win legal fight after software update crippled older Model S batteries

Re: ICE - still the way to go

>The thing its missing for today is a way to absorb NOx and particulates

Are you using a Jetex exhaust classic car converter?

Hard cheese: Stilton snap shared via EncroChat leads to drug dealer's downfall

Re: Hard cheese

Na it was a Brie's

Apple patches macOS flaw exploited by malware to secretly snap screenshots

Re: "since Apple just threw its desktop operating system under the bus"

"In court, computer companies are like someone who minimises their income for the taxman and maximises it for the mortgage company. Actual reality is entirely contingent on strategic need."

Sums the context up nicely.

I would go one step further and suggest truth gets even more distorted when completing disposable income forms: I might earn £40k pa after tax, but my disposable income is only £50 pcm....

Boffins improve on tech that extracts DC power from ambient Wi-Fi

Re: BT and their WiFi

>Ignoring the fact it was banned as "misleading"

I'm a little surprised the "Pixelated Paula" advert is still running...

Re: Green?

>Only if the original source is green

Does harvesting CMBR satisfy the requirement...

Now whoever achieves that would have something worth shouting about!

All that Lego has a purpose: Researchers find that spatial memory improves kids' mathematical powers

Re: How to use it best

>My brother preferred to follow the plans and build exactly what was on the kit.

...

My two teenagers got a Hogwarts Great Hall Lego kit for Christmas, both followed the instructions...

It wasn't until we stood the two completed kits next to each other that it became clear my daughter had built a mirrored version...

Re: Lego and origami

>I still have my Dad's Meccano set in a box.

Been busy during lockdown?

A friend who runs a web store selling reproduction and pre-owned Meccano has been kept busy throughout lockdown.

So don't inflict your Rubik's cube on your kids

"The researchers had been expecting rotation training to help in learning mathematics. However, it turned out to have the smallest effect."

Here's how we got persistent shell access on a Boeing 747 – Pen Test Partners

Re: Run old systems for better security

Its notable that having determined the server was running NT that no mention is made of firing up an NT image back at the lab and experimenting with that - I'm sure disks are available on fleabay or friends of friends with old Technet CD distributions.

Re: Are there any passenger 747s still flying?

>vaguely interesting but of no security value at all.

Are you sure the 737-Max doesn't use the same (or slightly modified) IFE? Also, there are other places of interest that still use NT...

It would not surprise me if Boeing used this 'proven' IFE on other aircraft...

Lessons have not been learned: Microsoft's Modern Comments leave users reaching for the rollback button

Re: Efficiency?? Ha ha ha ha….

>Even with Storage Sense turned off, it appears to sometimes delete files from the %temp% directory, a place that many applications use. With it on, it pretty much wipes that directory, breaking lots of applications.

I think we've been here before (Windows 95?) with application developers treating the %temp% folder as a permanent file store. Or are you saying Windows 10 overrides file locks from active applications?

Re: Efficiency?? Ha ha ha ha….

> where exactly were these files being deleted stored in the file system?

I note that care is necessary with Disk Cleanup as using it after a Win 20H2 update, the option to empty the Downloads folder was ticked.

Win10 1709 Storage Sense default behaviour is described here:

https://www.easeus.com/data-recovery-solution/automatically-delete-temp-files.html

"The option, when turned on (turned off by default), automatically deletes unchanged files and temp files from the Downloads folder or Recycle Bin after 30 days."

The treatment of the Downloads folder as a temporary folder has probably caught many by surprise. However, you can turn this off, so Storage Sense is restricted to temp and OneDrive folders.

Re: Change for the sake of change

>On the other hand you can still run a lot of twenty year old 32bit software today on your PC

Provided you can get the installer to work...

Re: The Microsoft way

>Result: they have the ability to zoom in on a useful feature like a guided missile and do approximately the same amount of damage.

You missed the collateral damage: They are also able to see the features that are being used the least and nuc them; failing to appreciate that these features were useful to those who were actually using the application for it's original intended purpose...

Re: Efficiency?? Ha ha ha ha….

>If your wife's laptop is a business model rather than consumer, there's a high probability that it will Just Work in Linux.

Welcome to first base, now replace all those applications that people use to actually get work done...

Linux's problem today is still very much the same as it was when XP went EoL - good quality business grade office applications, which is a shame.

Re: No doubt Microsoft's response will be the same as usual...

>and for people who really need to get things done, there is new, even more expensive edition.

Which isn't quite like the stable XP/2K3 version from years back, it too has many freemium features...

It looks like the freemium model is infecting MS's other product sets; I'm sure it won't be long before SQL*Server etc. get the freemium overhaul and idiots extolling the virtues of sending out posts everytime SQL*Server does a DB record update...

Proposed amendments to UK Finance Bill target rogue umbrella companies ripping off contractors after IR35

Re: Pennies and Pounds

It might be pennies, but the efficient collecting of pennies is how many fortunes are made...

UK data regulator fines American Express up to 0.021p per email after opted-out folk spammed 4.1 million times

Re: Missing out?

>Spend £40 in store and get 5p off a litre of fuel!

Well, if you normally spend £40 in-store and will be putting 50 litres of fuel in the car the offer is relatively good.

My other-half seems to have mastered the art of shopping in rotation (Tesco's, Sainsbury's, Waitrose) so as to maintain a steady flow of high-value discount vouchers. Until the end of the month it's Sainsbury's (£4.50 off a £30 spend), as for next month, vouchers are probably already in the post...

So the question isn't so much who went out specially and spent £500 on Amex, but those who had a choice and decided to use their Amex card instead of their Visa/MC etc. for that £500+ purchase.

Internet Explorer downgraded to 'Walking Dead' status as Microsoft sets date for demise

Re: It makes sense

>It's always good practise to get rid of redundant cruft.

Trouble is that whilst I've installed Edge and manually changed my default browser, I'm still surprised at just how much Windows still insists on firing up IE when I okay "Open in web browser".

Perhaps MS need to remove IE from the code base for Win10 starting 21H1 and let their in-house developers feel the pain.