Posts by alisonken1

Mayday! Mayday! The next Windows 10 update is finally on approach to a PC near you

Re: Just wait

https://spins.fedoraproject.org/kde/download/index.html

Fedora - but it's the KDE spin of Red Hat.

How many times do we have to tell you? A Tesla isn't a self-driving car, say investigators after Apple man's fatal crash

Re: Two things here

"Tesla refused to cooperate with the probe." really are they allowed to do that? US justice seems a little toothless.

Minor correction - NTSB is NOT part of the justice system.

National Transportation Safety Board .

Note - Even the title shows that they're part of an investigation group, not a prosecution group.

Re: Take a lesson from railways

IIRC (it's been quite a few years since I've read Heinlein), he was describing why the "Gorilla Suits" of the Marauder class of armor was designed with simple displays and controls - instead of having to spend 6 months learning what the suit does, the suit was designed so you 'just wear it' - otherwise, when you're too busy trying to figure out the technology in the middle of battle, you lose sight of the fact you're in the middle of a battle.

When that happens while you're fighting, you're so distracted trying to figure out what each control does and what the displays mean that you don't notice the caveman coming up behind you with a rock and bash your head in.

Google's OpenSK lets you BYOSK – burn your own security key

"Quickly Robin! To the BatScope - there's no time to lose!"

Will Asimov fix my doorbell? There should be a law about this

Re: 3 laws for AI

And don't forget RoboCop's Directive 4:

"Thou shalt not touch a Corporate Executive"

IBM, Microsoft, a medley of others sing support for Google against Oracle in Supremes' Java API copyright case

Re: Why not let idiotic orgs let their APIs slide into obscurity via failing to license freely?

Actually, it's not _completely_ the Kingdom of Mouse's fault.

When the updated copyright was put before congress, it was to align US copyright with European (or world) copyright.

Although, If I were a betting man, I would also wager that The House of Mouse probably left some incentives behind to encourage the homogenizing of copyright between both sides of the pond (in favor of the longer side).

Chemists bitten by Python scripts: How different OSes produced different results during test number-crunching

Re: Language question

Not really. In most programming languages, you can specify

1) Extract the bits as hex binary, export as hex/decimal text

2) Decode text input as hex/decimal as you prefer

With python, a text string can be checked if it's a valid number before processing, and I'm pretty sure most other programming languages have a built-in/library function that can validate text input as numeric values and convert from text to int as needed.

Not a death spiral, I'm trapped in a closed loop of customer experience

Re: Opposite button labelling

Or - in my case - right-click on the background and the "Leave ->" option pops up, which then changes the screen to the familiar menu that you can find from clicking on the blue 'K' (which for me, is actually a white 'f' on a blue background), followed by selecting the 'Leave ->' icon on the top menu bar, followed by the screen.

Nice thing to have more than one way to get around.

MAMR Mia! Western Digital's 18TB and 20TB microwave-energy hard drives out soon

Re: Feeling Old...

Yep - my first HD was a 20M also - for $200US (and the only reason for the low cost was I picked it up in Hong Kong when my ship stopped in for a visit).

Clutching at its Perl 6, developer community ponders language name with less baggage

Do I detect a 70's/80's reference to an artist who was fond of purple?

Yes, dating myself as well :)

Mmm, instant Java: Visual Studio Code 1.36 brings tasty updates – unless you run 32-bit Linux

Q: How many developers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: None. That's hardware.

Demand for HP printer supplies in free-fall – and Intel CPU shortages aren't helping either

Laser cartridges end up being cheaper for me

With what little printing I do at home, I would end up only using about 1/2 the ink before the ink dries and the cartridge becomes useless.

For me, the laser cartridges end up being cheaper since the toner doesn't dry up over time and little use, so I end up using the whole laser toner.

For example, the last toner cartridge I bought was at least 6 months ago, with an expected use of another 12-24 months before I need to look for another one.

Python joins movement to dump 'offensive' master, slave terms

... blackboards started being called chalkboards ...

Actually, I remember blackboards being called chalkboards because in my school, the chalkboards were green in color.

"greenboards" - besides not sounding as functional as "blackboards" - may also offend our environmentalistic brethren.

Gotta have standards? Security boffins not API about bloated browsers

Obligatory XKCD on meta-standards ...

https://xkcd.com/927/

New phishing campaign uses 30-year-old Microsoft mess as bait

Re: Now you are blaming the victim.

Actually, last time I checked, you only needed a license if you plan on driving on _public_roads_. If you own a large plot of land, then anyone you let can drive on land without a license.

Not so much because a car is complicated (only if you're a mechanic, a driver only needs to know how to make it go in forward or reverse, which pedal makes it go, which pedal makes it stop. Helpful is also where to put gas - hopefully without lifting the hood/bonnet), but because you are now on public roads where other people expect that they are not going to be run over or find out they've driven into a crash test dummy scenario.

Dot-Amazon spat latest: Brazil tells ICANN to go fsck itself, only 'govts control the internet'

Re: I fear ...

Or it could be that Brazil (a sovereign nation) offered BIGGER envelopes on the condition they IGNORE Amazon's. After all, one classic way to beat a bribe is with a BIGGER bribe.

Unless he's an "honest" politician. You know, "An honest politician is one that once he's bought, stays bought."

Q. What's today's top language? A. Python... no, wait, Java... no, C

Re: The way Basic worked in the old days

In Basic - there is no labels.

10 IF x = 5 GOTO 50

20 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 20

30 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 30

40 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 40

50 PRINT "X = 5"

60 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 60

70 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 70

Now, if you delete comments at line 20 and 30:

10 IF x = 5 GOTO 50

20 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 40

30 PRINT "X = 5"

40 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 60

50 REM THIS IS A COMMENT AT LINE 70

(edited for missing rem statements)

Stanford Uni's intro to CompSci course adopts JavaScript, bins Java

@Voland's right hand - wrong link to Joel

Link mistype - The link you posted for Joel's article actually goes to a register article about Russian hackers.

The correct link should be https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2005/12/29/the-perils-of-javaschools-2/

Munich may dump Linux for Windows

Re: Linux desktops are pretty piss poor

As a current Fedora user, I can say that Fedora follows RedHat with Gnome as the default. I had to specifically look for a Fedora disk that had KDE on it - otherwise it would have been a base Fedora install followed by 'dnf update' followed by 'dnf install kde*'

GitLab.com melts down after wrong directory deleted, backups fail

Re: They at least have a backup backup strategy

One question that I have about local git repo - does it also contain the buglist that's kept at gitlab as well? That would be another interesting exercise.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update crushed exploits without need of patches

It's no longer O/S2

It's been changed to eComStation (eCS/2) years ago when IBM orphaned it.

http://www.ecomstation.com/

(edit: spelling and added link)

BOOST! LEGO's computing future and its ground-breaking past

Re: One of the world's great companies

<quote>I just take the relatively high price as part and parcel of a western company which actually designs and manufacturers in the west too.</quote>

Actually, Lego's were created and continue to be built in Denmark. The company is currently run by the 3rd generation of it's founding family.

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/the_lego_history

User couldn't open documents or turn on PC, still asked for reference as IT expert

Speaking of email ...

When I was in the Navy and stationed at a research facility back in the days of Eudora email and Windows 3.1, I was called to a department head office and asked why her computer was so slooowww.

Upon checking her computer, she had her email set to check for new email every minute.

Needless to say, 286-class computer, Windows 3.1, and new-fangled networking with email set to check every minute, .....

Her reasoning was that if someone emailed her she needed to respond Right Now (tm).

After suggesting to her that if someone needed an answer Right Now (tm) then they would use the phone sitting next to her computer.

Upon resetting her email to check every 15 minutes her computer ran fine.

SpaceX: Breach in liquid oxygen tank caused Falcon 9 fireball ... probably

Re: too technical for me

Actually, probably a lot more. Saturn V used liquid hydrogen for it's flame - and hydrogen combines with oxygen creates water vapor.

The only thing the Saturn V could be said is about all of the heat from the fire, hardly any CO2 or any other stuff comes out.

Reg Programming Compo: 22 countries, 137 entries and... wow – loads of Python

Re: Python dict order

Actually, with python3 you can use an OrderedDict() to create a dictionary that is ordered based upon the sequence of how they were entered.

from collections import OrderedDict

(El Reg really does need a python icon)

Microsoft ordered to fix 'excessively intrusive, insecure' Windows 10

Re: To think that...

Not every body dislikes systemd because of perceived keylogging or whatever. The main reason to dislike systemd is it's an init system that has grown beyond being just an init and trying to do too much. It's not 'do one thing and do it well' - it's trying to be a swiss army knife.

Not to mention the binary logs - that's another issue entirely.

Facepalm time: MS Office update wipes custom Word autotext

Re: All together now!

And don't call me Shirley!

Open-source Linux doesn't pay, said no one ever at Red Hat

Re: Even if it doesn't pay.

Last I checked, only parts of .NET are open source. Need to re-check to see, so I believe that no, they are not (yet) fully committed to open source.

Google versus the EU: Sigh. You can't exploit a contestable monopoly

Re: Harm..

Interesting. I typed "webmail" (without the quotes) in google and here's the links I get in order:

About 66,400,000 results

workspace email login

earthlink email login

Sign in to Office365

roadrunner login

Gmail login

Hmm. Google has 4 other weblogins _before_ their very own gmail.

DRONE ALONE: US Navy secretary gives up on manned fighters

EDIT - redacted - looks like I'm a little late to point out the U.S. Marines were wanting VSTOL.

With that said, the U.S. Marines are actually a sub-division of the U.S. Navy, so ....

Should online pirates get the same sentences as offline ones?

Re: GPL

Actually - you CAN specify a specific version of the GPL - just make it "This is licensed under the GPL v2.0 only and no later versions" and later clauses do no come into effect.

Get ready for LAYOFFS: Nadella's coma-inducing memo, with subtitles

Since I don't use Windows ...

"In the short term, however, a fresh round of pink slips are likely on the way."

I think ~70K pink slips would suit me.

FORCE gov.uk suppliers to stick to 'open data principles' – MPs

Re: Gov. Controlling private companies

You missed the point.

Companies can use whatever they want - but if they want to interact with the government then they must use open data formats.

Just like you telling someone else if they want to talk to you they have to use english rather than their native tongue - but you're not telling them they have to use english in their home.

Hidden 'Windigo' UNIX ZOMBIES are EVERYWHERE

Re: The devil's in the detail

$ ssh -G 2>&1 | grep -e illegal -e unknown > /dev/null && echo "System clean" || echo "System infected"

doh ! N/M

Just got home from work and was relaxing. Good one.

Microsoft relents: 'Go ahead, install Windows 8.1 on clean PCs'

Actually, OSX is not Linux

It's derived from BSD.

And if you _really_ want an earful, log onto any of the *SD channels and mention that *SD is like linux

Windows 8.1 to freeze out small business apps

Re: TIFKAM?

In my neck of the woods, "Metro" is the bus you ride around town on, not your computer desktop.

Re: The message isn't clear enough yet?

" ... a consistent and - yeah - stable API ... "

Hmm - last I checked, unless you're writing a kernel module, the userspace API's and ABI's are pretty stable in linux. You must have missed that last rant that Linus did when someone broke userspace API in a kernel module that was being updated.

http://developers.slashdot.org/story/12/12/29/018234/linus-chews-up-kernel-maintainer-for-introducing-userspace-bug

Follow the link to the mailing list thread for the full effect.

Google sniffs at MySQL fork MariaDB: Yum. Have an engineer

Re: MySQL GUI tools?

Oracle and DB2 customers are the ones that have a complete floor of computers dedicated just for the database - not to be confused with cloud services where each computer is a separate database for someone's photo collection.

I would mention NSA and their new datacenter - but let's leave them out of this since we don't know what they're using.

Dear Linus, STOP SHOUTING and play nice - says Linux kernel dev

Private email for a public screwup?

Hmm. Must be nice to live in that kind of world.

The maintainer screwed up by marking something as "stable", the subsystem maintainer allowed the screwed up code to be passed up as "stable". Very public, last time I checked. And now, they want the guy that has to stitch up _all_ of the submits from how many different areas to be nice to them for something they publicly did?

Might work in a corporate environment where everything is done in private, but when every little detail (good and bad) is listed publicly for the world to see, and you want private communications. Nice.

Linux 3.11 to be known as 'Linux for Workgroups'

NetBIOS

Early windows used NebBIOS protocol - ipx/spx was for netware.

TCP/IP was an add-on using the winsock.dll if you needed to do internet stuff.

Apple's screw-up leaves tethered iPhones easily crackable

@gordon10

as noted, this article specifies the _default_ password generation that most people will use. Smart people don't keep the default password for their hotspots.

Microsoft: YES! You can have your desktop back again for FREE!

Tom 13 Re: Mine's the one with the 3.5" floppies in the pocket.

Speaking of noobs - I think I can still find my 8" floppies for an old Xerox dedicated word processor around the storage bin somewhere. Unless I left them on the ship :)

@John Savard Re: natural monopoly

Natural monopolies only occur when there is a _physical_ reason for the monopoly - not market reasaons. An example of a natural monopoly would be power distribution, or even better would be a mining facility. Extremely high capital costs or there's only one (or only several) place(s) to get the material.

However, being a perceived monopoly (a la Microsoft) could be a determining factor for government intervention to to monopolistic practices. In MS case, it's really a shame that politics got involved and they didn't get more intervention because of their proven monopolistic practices (as proven by the courts in MS v. Word Perfect)

As far as name recognition, you have a point. In the case of Linux, it's taken off despite the lack of name recognition for Linux itself, but Red Hat seems to have taken off in several sectors (like server space) despite not having the name recognition.

Bill & Jobs' excellent adventure: Steve's tech looked better than mine

Re: One thing "Boy Wonder" did NOT learn for Gates...

Hmm. Last I checked, it was Melinda that setup the charity - not His Billness.

Nokia shareholder tells CEO Elop he's going to hell

Re: Oh Dear

I'm still waiting for the _actual_ list of infringements that Android is said to have copied. When you can come up with a list of _actual_ infringement, then I will listen. Until then, it's just FUD.

Microsoft off the hook for billions in Motorola Mobility payout

Actually, no they haven't. The litigants settled because MS had deeper pockets and could not afford the litigation. Besides, WHAT patents are MS asserting against Android? I've been looking and I have yet to see ANY patents listed from MS - only smoke and mirrors against players that can't afford 10+ years to litigate.

Not to mention - since when does the court system decide rates? and BTW - 2.25% is the opening offer - MS decided to sue rather than negotiate. Think about that next time you want to talk to MS.

Ubuntu? Fedora? Mint? Debian? We'll find you the right Linux to swallow

Re: .. and then there were 2

Hmm. Last I checked, SuSE was derived from Slackware.

http://futurist.se/gldt/wp-content/uploads/12.10/gldt1210.svg

(Warning - VERY big graphic of linux distro's)

Re: @AndyS - Lets see if this self-fulfills

Hmm. Fond memories. I actually learned to drive on a '31 Ford Model A pickup. Fond memories indeed.