Posts by KLane

Smart ovens do really dumb stuff to check for Wi-Fi

Re: Fitting WiFi to an oven

Look up Ohmibod on the interwebs.

As if Elon didn't have enough problems – Twitter sued over leaky servers

Re: "... by exploiting a vulnerability of Twitter systems."

It's not a vulnerability, it's a feature!

Being one of the 1% sucks if you're a Rackspace user

Re: I just wonder ..

Step 1 - Spin up parallel server instance, different dns name

Step 2 - Restore last good backup of mail database(s)

Step 3 - Give affected users read-only access to their messages

How is this not doable?

Trio accused of selling $88m of pirated Avaya licenses

Re: How on earth...

He likely used some internal form of their key generating software to generate the keys, rather than the usual sales-based software, and side-stepped the 'accounting' side of it.

Watchdog rubber-stamps cavity-detecting neural network for dentists

'Rubber-stamp' poor choice for headline

The usual meaning of 'Rubber-stamp' is to approve something with little or no checking/validation. Really not a proper usage.

Samsung releases pair of jeans that can't do anything except cover your legs and hold a Galaxy Z Flip 3

Re: I was unsure from the article...

So what size(s) are they making these jeans in? Do they make them to order? For example, women's jeans come in at least 6 different cuts, not including size.

Logitech MX Keys Mini: Svelte keyboard takes cues from Apple in more ways than one

You can reverse the Fn key default

If you use the Logitech Options software settings, you can swap whether the Function keys are F1-F12 or special functions (brightness, sound, etc) when shifted.

BOFH: You say goodbye and I say halon

England, I believe

There are references to Pubs, Leeds, and other English terms in other stories, so that's my guess....

Accidentally wiped an app's directory? Hey, just play the 'unscheduled maintenance' card. Now you're a hero

Re: VAX/VMS solved this years ago

I remember that Novell Netware, probably from version 1.x, had a network recycle bin. It took an admin to access/restore from it, and even tracked who did it, IIRC.

If you can't log into Azure, Teams or Xbox Live right now: Microsoft cloud services in worldwide outage

Tell me again...

The advantages of Cloud Computing are?

You would expect a qualified electrician to wire a building to spec, right? Trust... but verify

Re: The neutral doesn't join up with anything on the switch!

Had something similar at a golf course I worked for. The sub-panel did not have the neutral wire to the distribution panel connected, or it was loose. In any case, lights (incandescent) would be at various brightness levels, or burn out, motors would run fast or slow, or overheat, depending on how balanced the load was on each side of the 110/220 sub-panel. Think of a see-saw board that must be balanced.

HP: That print-free-for-life deal we promised you? Well, now it's pay-per-month to continue using your printer ink

Xerox WorkCentre 6027 color laser

I've been pretty satisfied with this one. Print quality is quite good, and it is also has copy/fax/scan- to- network-share as well as wifi/usb/lan interface. It does say 'non-Xerox toner' on power cycles when using generic toner, but has no problem using them; even shows the remaining toner level correctly.

Help! My printer won't print no matter how much I shout at it!

Okidata C series printers, maybe?

Are you thinking of the Okidata C series (C710) printers, possibly? Their dot-matrix (Microline 8x series) was pretty reliable for the most part, I mostly had to replace pin-feed tractors (plastic belts) and do proper PM to keep them going.

Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced techie is indistinguishable from magic

Re: light sensitive...

Back in the day when a sheet feeder was a clip-on-the-top option for Diablo daisywheel printers, we had a customer in Phoenix, Arizona with 10 of them. Around 3:30 pm, one printer would start printing on the platen, without loading any paper, almost every day, until maybe 4 pm. We showed up several mornings trying to catch it in the act, not a single mis-feed. Still, most afternoons we would get the service call. We replaced the feeder, the printer, swapped around the printers, to no avail. Turned out the sensor for paper being under the platen was washed out by the sunlight through the office window, on just that one printer, which would only last about 30 minutes. Moving the printer about 2 feet over took care of that one.

Cool IT support drones never look at explosions: Time to resolution for misbehaving mouse? Three seconds

Re: Early optical rodents

IIRC, they had a very fine grid pattern printed on or in them, that the sensor would use to determine direction and movement. This was just before they started using a 'camera' type sensor, vs a light/dark sensor.

Facebook to surround all of Africa in optical fibre and tinfoil

Re: Can someone explain?

The main reason aluminum is bad for house wiring, is that copper is 'springy' and aluminum isn't, at least far less than copper. When the wire is connected to the outlet, switch, etc., it is usually under a screw. The copper will push back when compressed, maintaining a good electrical connection, whereas aluminum doesn't. This leads to a connection that will degrade over time, and cause a 'hot spot' where the wire meets the outlet or switch, increasing the risk of fire.

Florida man might just stick it to HP for injecting sneaky DRM update into his printers that rejected non-HP ink

Re: HP printers

I've been happy so far with a Xerox DocuCentre 6027 color laser. I have used third-party toner for some time now, and all it does is say 'Non-Genuine Toner' when I turn the power on, and then continues to start normally. BTW, print quality is very good.

Real-time tragedy: Dumb deletion leaves librarian red-faced and fails to nix teenage kicks on the school network

Re: ah yes there were times at work they went round and audited the machines

Yes, there is, but I won't give the source (not hard to find, but why help?) They are quite often used to get revenge on script-kiddie level hackers.

Take DOS, stir in some Netware, add a bit of Windows and... it's ALIIIIVE!

My favorite Novell feature...

was the ability to un-delete files via the server console that a user had deleted (it had it's own version of a recycle bin), as well as identifying who did it as well! I have yet to see this on any Windows server, unless you use low-level disk editing tools.

iFixit surgeons dissect Apple's pricey Mac Pro: Industry standard sockets? Repair diagrams? Who are you and what have you done to Apple?

Techy explanation follows...

It's done by having the connectors disconnect the power, excluding ground, first, by having shorter 'fingers' on the connector for those lines. The rest is up to the motherboard having isolation between that connector and the others, so that the drop of all the data lines to basically zero won't affect the other circuitry.

The silence of the racks is deafening, production gear has gone dark – so which wire do we cut?

Re: Site services

IIRC, it was Dell PowerEdge series servers.

Blood, snot and fear: Why the travelling lone tech reporter should always knock twice

Re: Interesting problem

A number of these systems have no interface to the card writer from the reservation system. All it requires is the room number to be entered, which gets the access token from the lock computers, and then writes it to the card.

US customers kick up class-action stink over Epson's kyboshing of third-party ink

Xerox 6027

I have had very good results with this one, and it has no problem with alternate toner cartridges, other than a 'non-genuine toner' message displayed only on power-up. The advanced settings also make it easy to get the best quality on photo prints as well.

Stalker attacks Japanese pop singer – after tracking her down using reflection in her eyes

Re: Unexpected result of digital cameras

It's actually easy to do this, as the garden-variety (non high-security) keys have a fixed number of pre-defined cut depths, 6 to 10, and number of pins, typically 4 to 6. You just need to recognize the make of key, and try a few different keyway blanks for that make. To make it even easier, some keys have the cut numbers stamped on the head face, such as those by Kwikset and Schlage.

HP to hike upfront price of printer hardware as ink biz growth runs dry

Xerox 6027

I have had very good results with this one, and it has no problem with alternate toner cartridges, other than a 'non-genuine toner' message displayed only on power-up. The advanced settings also make it easy to get the best quality on photo prints as well.

Rise of the Machines hair-raiser: The day IBM's Dot Matrix turned

Re: Surely....

Don't know the printer specs, but unplugging the data cable may not stop the printing immediately, as it may have an internal buffer.

This weekend you better read those ebooks you bought from Microsoft – because they'll be dead come early July

Re: Par for the course

I have been using Apress books for some time. Even though their library doesn't have everything I need, they allow you to buy/download PDF versions of the book. They are DRM-free, just signed in the footer of each page with the e-mail name from your account. That's it....

I'll just clear down the database before break. What's the worst that could happen? It's a trial

Re: The best I've managed...

I have always wondered when MS SQL (and some others) would require a WHERE clause on any sort of update or delete statement, instead of defaulting to ALL. I have worked with databases, some literally decades old, that require either a 'WHERE TRUE' or 'WHERE 1=1' qualifier to be syntax-correct. Made this sort of error far more unlikely.

What a meth: Elderly Melbourne couple sign for 20kg shipment of drugs, say cops

Not them...

Andy,

That was a stock photo, and not the actual couple.

Scare-bnb: Family finds creeper cams hidden in their weekend rental by scanning Wi-Fi

Re: How

I use WiFi Analyzer by farproc on my Android phone. Works on both 2g and 5g bands. Free, ad-supported.

Oracle spaffed $30bn on buybacks over the past 9 months, but analysts warn it can't last forever

And totally unrelated to....

https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/at-work/tech-careers/oracle-swings-the-layoff-axe-and-clearcuts-teams-of-engineers

We don't want to be Latch key-less kids: NYC tenants sue landlords for bunging IoT 'smart' lock on their front door

What if....

the batteries die in the lock, it loses the codes, or someone 'accidentallyonpurpose' breaks the lock?

More nodding dogs green-light terrible UK.gov pr0n age verification plans

Censorship vs millions of teenagers...

https://dilbert.com/strip/1996-01-23

Merry Christmas, you filthy directors: ICO granted powers to fine bosses for spam calls

Re: Could I get charged with assult ...

That means they would have to come forward and be identified. Maybe it wouldn't help you directly, but others called from the same number, and/or about the same scam, would then know.

Yale Weds: Just some system maintenance, nothing to worry about. Yale Thurs: Nobody's smart alarm app works

Re: Not Surprised

...and how many people realize there is a physical backup/valet key hidden inside in most of the keyfobs out there?

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

Re:

I'm quite sure some women were sending pictures of their husbands (dicks) that ordered these!

Cisco sneaks hardcoded secret root backdoor into vid surveillance kit

Darn!

OK, they found out about that one. Are we still good on the others?

Facebook sued for exposing content moderators to Facebook

However...

She worked there for nine months, and then decided it was too much? Seems like a decision that you would make very shortly after starting. No one was making her do this job.....

Chap asks Facebook for data on his web activity, Facebook says no, now watchdog's on the case

Re: 'It's not clear whether he also has a FB account or whether he's a non-account'

If this stored data can't be queried efficiently, then what does Facebook use or archive it for? I suspect if a TLA asked for it, there would be no difficulty coming up with it.

Cops suspect Detroit fuel station was hacked before 10 drivers made off with 2.3k 'free' litres

It's federal law in the US

29 CFR 1917.156 - Fuel handling and storage

(a)Liquid fuel.

.....................

(8) Liquid fuel dispensing devices shall be provided with an easily accessible and clearly identified shut-off device, such as a switch or circuit breaker, to shut off the power in an emergency.

Oracle, for one, says we'll welcome our new robot overlords: '90%' of you will obey an AI bot

Are you sure you wanted to be 'Ruled' by AI?

It was only a matter of time before the machines started fighting back. And let's be honest, we all knew the software engineers would be the first to fall.

And so it was that Ibrahim Diallo, in California, USA, found himself fired from his job, had his network access and his entry card killed, and was unable to get himself reinstated despite his own manager, and even his manager's boss, assuring him that he was still employed.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/06/22/software_engineer_fired_by_machine/

BOFH: Their bright orange plumage warns other species, 'Back off! I'm dangerous!'

Should have been punctuated properly:

Certified Woman-Owned for 17 Yrs - IOW, certified as owned by a woman for 17 years.

Or this could happen!

From a US movie, but accurate!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTWvE7TdjuE

Ex-US pres Bill Clinton has written a cyber-attack pulp thriller. With James Patterson. Really

Amazon Deals

This book came up as my daily Amazon Truck deal today.

HP Ink to compensate punters for bricking third-party ink cartridges

I have had good experience with Xerox WorkCentre 6027. Quality and toner life are both decent, even on photos. There are several third-party toner providers, and the printer only notifies you of a non-genuine toner when you power off and back on. Also, it's a very simple toner change; open the side door, pull the cartridge out, put the new one in.

User stepped on mouse, complained pedal wasn’t making PC go faster

Re: If somebody does not understand...

The story was "Mimsy were the Borogroves" by Lewis Padgett.

From Wikipedia:

Mimsy Were the Borogoves" is a science fiction short story by Lewis Padgett originally published in the February 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine.

US Congress mulls first 'hack back' revenge law. And yup, you can guess what it'll let people do

Re: ACDC?

How could you forget 'Highway To Hell'???

GoDaddy gives white supremacist site its marching orders after Charlottesville slur

Google has also given them the boot!

Google has canceled the domain registration for The Daily Stormer, a company spokesperson confirmed Monday.

......

Google didn't want its services used to incite violence, a source close to Google told Business Insider. Daily Stormer registered its domain with Google at 7:51 a.m. Pacific. Google canceled the registration at 11:02 a.m. Pacific, the source said.

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-cancels-domain-registration-for-daily-stormer-2017-8

Samsung stalls Bixby launch because it am English not so good

How about: (From a mini-keyboard instruction sheet)

"After the flying squirrel and a TV remote control have been infrared transmitter aligned...."

"The cursor can move swimmingly means the pairing has succeeded."

"Loosen the finger then light go out"

Dishwasher has directory traversal bug

Re: Bewildered. (That's grown-up speak for "wtf")

I just set up a cheap WiFi router with no WAN connection, and connect anything that doesn't need outside world access to that. They can talk to each other all they want.