Posts by perkele

AI can't replace freelance coders yet, but that day is coming

Why not, it might even read the spec, unlike jokers on places like upwork & fiverr.

Europe's largest local authority settles on ERP budget 5x original estimate

I guess after they closed down many of the circuses in the UK they had to find a home for them in local councils as leading politicians and certain placemen within their IT/infra team to define and manage these things...

Does Oracle have a "joke board" where they dare each other to find a bigger, more stupid, incredible mug of a client/contact salesperson as each time you think they've found their limit, someone comes and surpasses it.

Abandoned US Army 'city under the ice' imaged in serendipitous NASA find

Re: It seems to be the American way...

Oh, spot those still thinking Starmer & Co are doing a good job ...

Oh well, when the UK turns to shit and the IMF have no money to lend, please don't start coming over as refugees here. We already have enough chancers flooding in with sob stories and a few gullible fools that believe them...

And the massaged and often "unpublished" statistics to prove it is not all sweetness and light...

Re: In perspective

The literal shit Thames Water & Co are doing is alarming. And I live in Finland.

Some of our bright politicians are trying to push water privatisation, in stages even, with nice words about investment and the like..

The system works now, and we are not paying through the hoop and seeing money go to overseas tax paradises.

We have a fairly clean environment too. We don't want Thames Water practices and a fuckbrain of a captive regulator allowing it to happen, thank you very much.

Of course, some of our politicians are "corrupt", with one eye for executive directorships and the like. But we have no corruption in Finland. No sir. I mean, our state broadcaster reports this quite often.

We all know about the best brother network and more though... frequently often by our political overlords and their friends.

Re: It seems to be the American way...

Were...

Americans (today, still) are.

Slight difference.

Maybe Britain does not have a pot to p1ss in and leave its scrap anywhere... or be there now. Too busy giving money away to foreigners and nut zero and bankrupting itself.

Well Billy Gates and Blackrock will reward no doubt a few Labour people...

QNAP NAS users locked out after firmware update snafu

So, 2024 QNAP are still sh1t at upgrades, communication and questionable with support.

News at 11.

It must be 7+ years since I jumped off that train.

I think most are sh1tshows now. Slightly easier rolling your own and praying... at least unless you have lots of euros in your account/outsource/can give it the support.

Sucks for home and smallbiz users... and then jokers like QNAP play their games. Nearly as bad as those firewall firms with their oh, planned, obsolescence due to incompetence or business planning (MBAs galore).

I hope me and my MBA don't add to the collective bad impression MBA-ites give this qualification :)

Blackstone invests £10B to build Europe's 'biggest AI datacenter' in UK

Starmer trying to claim credit for it made before the election & the press just reprint the press release essentially.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/blackstone-to-buy-former-britishvolt-site-for-qts-data-center-in-northumberland-uk/

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2024/Apr/Deal-agreed-for-multi-billion-pound-AI-investment.aspx

Nothing has changed other than legalise were finalised.

Brit council gives Oracle another £10M for professional services amid ERP fallout

Maybe the bus taking the decision makers to another "fact finding" trip, in the cold of a British winter, didn't have enough room.

Or a fact finding mission to Slough (or similar) is just not so attractive?

Just like if a lobbyist offers you a working meeting at some uber-Michelin restaurant and, oh as it is a long way away maybe you must stay over for a "presentation" versus a quick lunch at your local burger joint...

(for those who the usual rules don't apply to).

And the sanctions for the mass of council employees and politicos who approved this mess from day one... ?

Meanwhile a rich man sits on one of his yachts urinating himself (not through senility) with laughter at this copper bottom incompetence and clown show that keeps on going.

It would have been cheaper to return to paper, pen and filing cabinet. Maybe harder for fraud too...

Cancer patient forced to make terrible decision after Qilin attack on London hospitals

May the perpetuators get cancer of the knob & it drops off, painful piles & other unpleasant shitty things, and hopefully living in a shit country with no access to healthcare.

Depressing reading just before bed. From someone who themselves is classed as a seriously ill person with a higher cancer risk & others as a side effect symptom (post organ transplant).

Europe accuses Apple of preventing devs from telling users about world outside

Oh a lot of the fan boys at MacRumours were screaching and screamling like banshees today.

Apple should leave the EU. Europeans don't understand. Blah blah blah. I'm an Apple user. I'm in Europe. I don't care for the shitty way they are developing at headlong speed and their games are seriously getting me to "think different" about things when my phone etc need a renew.

Oracle Java license teams set to begin targeting Oracle users who don't think they use Oracle

So you download it, maybe test it, don't use it and Oracunts thinks you owe them money and sends demands for your obvious use straight away without evidence...?

Cisco fixes WebEx flaw that allowed government, military meetings to be spied on

That too. Assuming these US workers are not H1B workers anyway...

I am sure Uncle Sam's finest obviously have the best interests for Uncle Sam rather than their Dutch, Finnish or Indian customers when push comes to shove and Uncle Sam wants some economic info.

As has been happening since even before WW2 in the analogue world.

Where do you start to stop blaming incompetence and start wondering if they've been compromised by "foreign workers for a foreign power"... E.g. CN...

HP CEO: Printed pages are down 20% since pandemic

HP customers might not be sweating but have purchased non-Hp b/c of their shit behaviour & attitudes, . & HP waits for an order that doesn't come...

Capgemini to keep the legacy lights on at HMRC for £245.5M

Why did I assume? Well I read the article and "HMRC has one of the largest and most complex IT estates..." suggests that they are in the very top of whatever ranking has been used. So it would be reasonable to assume that other countries MAY do with less, even on a per capita basis. I mean the tax affairs of Finland (5.6m people) are still complex to a degree and need processing (our system seems easier than the UK and tax papers come pre-filled in for checking/correction) so we may have a fraction of the people to process so maybe x% of the server capacity is not needed, but still...

So maybe Germany does what it needs to do with (made up) 75% of that HMRC does. There can be reasons why Germany uses a much less per captita amount of processing. Better processes? Newer systems? Efficiency? Efficient tax code.

You see, I did not state absolutes. Now I could have made it clearer I had made up the claim about Germany but it seems bloody obvious in context.

I might have expected more context (HMRC is one of the top three users of IT, other examples of complex IT estates' that but that is different.

"HMRC has one of the largest and most complex IT estates in Europe with over 600 systems, 800 terabytes of data, 1,000 IT changes a month, and a 24/7 IT operation. It serves 45 million citizens and more than 5 million business taxpayers."

So how do countries with a much larger population manage with apparently less? Does the German tax office close its computers at 4pm daily?

From gov.uk

according to the 2021 Census, the total population of England and Wales was 59.5 million, and nearly two-thirds of people (37.5 million) were of 'working age' (aged 16 to 64 years)

If they serve 45m citizens (that they know about, excluding Albanian car washers and Turkish barbers) what about the 14.5m of the population they are ignoring? Are children not on the tax register for income they may get? Pensioners would be and surely they are taxed?

NYC Comptroller and hedge funds urge Tesla shareholders to deny Musk $50B windfall

Re: He earned it

Many claim Mr "Pump and Dump" Musk and his loose mouth might be the problem and the blue-eyed people believe his bullshit. Whether it is true or not I don't know. I don't own Tesla stock or a single Tesla product, nor desire to. (unless any fund holds a minority stake or something lost on page 95 of the valuation report).

Apple says if you want to ship your own iOS browser engine in EU, you need to be there

Apple behaving like shitty sulky teens. Sigh.

-long-term, disappointed Apple user.

Lords of May-hem: Seven signs it is Oracle's year end

Oracle. The virus that once it takes hold is hard to get rid of.

Blue screen of death or Eurovision's Windows95man performance – what's less annoying?

"What is it about gays and feeling the need to advertise?"

Isn't that what gayly-coloured hankies in various pockets was for :) A bugger if you were colour blind or had poor vision... Sorry mate, was just checking which way you hang.

Re: Not a Bucks Fizz moment

Maybe Windows95Man or someone could have an extra layer on to whip it, err, off later for your televisual entertainment. Or the Swiss person.

Re: Can anyone offer us a serious explanation

I could spell felching correctly, but I suspect I would retch doing that (each to their own). It's not a thought I really spend a lot of time on either.

Re: Who's the target audience?

I was more wondering about casting a vote (one euro a call) until I saw online it cost Britons 15 pence. I was in two minds to fire up a VPN or just not bother. The latter won and I did not vote.

Not that the actual monetary difference would have ruined my day, but well, maybe some "roots" I didn't know I had kicked in...

Re: Bloody hell, that is almost NSFW

Was it like the old days, freeze framing interesting programmes late at night, often on a VHS with no "perfect freeze frame" for a hint of tit. Oh teenage years in the stone age of recorded media :)

Or do you just have eagle eyes and excellent image processing pathway to the mind ! I don't recall a lingering shot but it was very late at night when it aired (timezone wise).

Re: Bloody hell, that is almost NSFW

Do you work in a puritan organisation or country? Seriously. No bollocks, hairy arse or worse were on display.

Nearly safe for work. Really. Now sharing anything maybe at work is or can be an issue - but labelling that performance at nearly NSFW... Herregud!

Mind you, it is thought in one rehearsal his goolies nearly popped out - at least that was one of the rumours going around before our national UMK show was aired last year :)

More memorable, a bit like British seaside postcards, than the err, in your face thing.

I am struggling with Ireland's entry. I don't care about their sexuality, but the schtick I didn't get.

Amazon and Epson accuse a bunch of traders of selling knockoff print ink

Quite. If Amazon genuinely spent that much resources, they should fire those 15,000 people and underlying processes as it is not working.

Or just, you know, actually screen those you let sell shit on your platform. Nah, easier to have lots of fees, sometime confusing structures and profit...

"

Multiple Marketplace accounts sold fake bottles, cartridges for 2 years+, claim companies"

So Amazon will be refunding all of those fake purchases made over two years until it decided to take action for PR purposes?

No, thought not.

It doesn't take two years to discover this? Heck if they want to find fake, shoddy knock offs with ease, just use their own platform and look at some of the seller names like AJHXEWASAX or HUANKINDOGG

Brit security guard biz exposes 1.2M files via unprotected database

Most physical guarding is a sham with "minimum wage SIA monkeys" doing the bare minimum. A facade.

Ten years ago Microsoft bought Nokia's phone unit – then killed it as a tax write-off

Re: Nokia's problems

Yes, senior management at Nokia struggled to organise a F... in a brothel, were too interested in empire building and not cooperating with other "lesser" units.

Greetings from NOKIA land :) A new set of clothes are on the old body, but no rubber boots.

Some scientists can't stop using AI to write research papers

I asked Google Gemini to comment.

While large language models can be helpful for generating ideas or summarizing information, using them to write entire academic research reports is generally discouraged for a few reasons:

Lack of Critical Thinking and Originality: These models rely on existing data and might not provide new insights or critical analysis expected in academic research.

Potential for Factual Errors: The accuracy of the generated text depends on the quality of the training data. There's a risk of including factual errors or biases present in the data.

Misrepresentation of Authorship: Research reports require clear ownership of ideas and arguments. Using a large language model can blur the lines between human and machine generated content.

It's important for academic research to be transparent, well-sourced, and demonstrate critical thinking. Large language models are better suited for assisting researchers, not replacing them entirely.

:)

Dropbox dropped the ball on security, haemorrhaging customer and third-party info

Boggle.

If Dropbox focussed on doing its core mission, well, without jacking up prices and adding in shit many don't want, it might still be a not bad thing.

But enshittification of all sorts must continue.

Indian bank’s IT is so shabby it’s been banned from opening new accounts

Re: The next superpower ?

Or people to find and use the porcelain pot, in any authorised configuration (sit or squat).

Spotify claims Apple wants 'tax' for in-app pricing tweak

Even as an Apple user I am so tired of their b.s. in many areas, this included.

Europol now latest cops to beg Big Tech to ditch E2EE

Presumably the same pinpoint following of laws such as, oh I don't know, the Feds use of FISA warrant procedure. Ha ha ha..

Tesla Cybertruck turns into world's most expensive brick after car wash

It's not 56m, but 56bn the muskyone is seeking - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/17/elon-musk-tesla-pay

Re: So much for the resilience of Stainless Steel

It's not 56m, but 56bn the muskyone is seeking - https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/17/elon-musk-tesla-pay

Debian spices up APT package manager with a dash of color, squishes ancient bug

Will they follow Apple's seemingly new design mantra, so it will be dumbed down, work less, and be full of emojis.

So you get an urgent update to security with a few red serious emojis, a regular update with a thumbs up, and so on...

Maybe they'll borrow from Microsoft too, so there can be an advert in between the upgrade listing or something as well.

2026 can be the year of the Linux desktop :)

I just hope these "enhancements" can be deactivated. What's wrong with the current display?

Support contract required techie to lounge around in a $5,000/night hotel room

"One thing I didn't tell anyone was that I took my girlfriend with me, and when I wasn't working we strolled round the city. I got some strange looks when eating out when I asked that the bills be split into mine and hers (so I could claim back my receipt)."

In Scandinavia/Nordics that wouldn't be even considered odd.

Post Office slapped down for late disclosure of documents in Horizon scandal inquiry

Re: Why the focus on Vennells?

You've answered your own question indirectly...

Re: Why...

Straight out of the Yes Minister comedy (sorry documentary) about kicking reports into the long grass, etc.

Re: Why is Paula Vennells still walking the streets?

[DailyMailReader]It's because the jails are full of TV licence evaders and foreigners[/DailyMailReader].

Or just the government, all governments, are soft on crime in general and don't build enough jails. They don't need to be dungeons but take away the privs of the very naughty.

They seem to manage in Finland even when adjusted for scale. They even try and seemingly succeed "resetting" many cons.

Which is why I wrote "The Post Office in its various forms" since I've not kept track of the details of who runs what since I escaped the UK.

I just have to put up with shit deliveries to my father, or suppliers. Such as Parcelforce not giving a shit and telling the vendor of a returned item for service that they've messed up the paperwork and are demanding money they shouldn't demand, take weeks to even send their wrong demand to the recipient and generally not give a toss. Enough friends in the Uk report getting hospital letters late, letters kindly opened within the delivery process (not rips from machines) and a general malaise.

Or the idiots handling LETTER CUSTOMS thinking a birthday card is containing thousands of pounds of something so it needs a customs declaration.

The Post Office in its various forms has err form for the late delivery of items.

Junk mail still rushes through, but everything else.. some even get opened before delivery as an extra public service too. What convenience. Especially things like birthday cards. Never the brown envelopes (not those, MPs get them but not through the GPO).

Got an unpatched LG 'smart' television? It could be watching you back

Re: Or your best solution is...

I don't own a media box, but I see Apple TV recommended in so many places, e.g. as a replacement interface for Samsung TVs and to replace shit like Roku players (even before their latest games).

So you pay a bit more, and maybe worry a bit less.

I guess if I then wanted to read gushing fanboy support there's AppleRumours and the like. I'm referring to more generic locales.

Re: Or your best solution is...

Well yes, but that is why you have a firewall on your external interface and don't enable UnPnP.

And still pray that things work / your firewall is updated / you've not been a doofus and configured it wrong [or trust the telco if they provide a "black box"].

Still security is like an onion, so the more layers the better, unless the onion is rotten to the core.

Security pioneer Ross Anderson dies at 67

Taken before his time. But I've noticed - getting older myself - those looked up are disappearing as old Father Time catches them.

I'm no spring chicken (in my 50s) either.

Amazon fined in Europe for screwing shoppers with underhand dark patterns

Amazon (.de) 's "delivery guarantee" isn't worth the turd on a toilet roll.

Guaranteed by 1 March.

1 March end of business. where's my product?

Amazon: oh wait up to a week, sorry, if it is not there then we will refund. Don't worry.

The way Apple, Alphabet implemented DMA rules 'seems to be at odds' with law

Re: What apps do they think Apple should allow uninstalling?

News at least [also on my watch] but not available in my country...

Maybe stocks in the past?