Posts by alisonken1

Kremlin names the internet giants it will kidnap the Russian staff of if they don't play ball in future

Re: "Western governments detain people too"

Or, better yet, all the relatives of those people whom Julian specifically named in those released documents ....

NASA delays crewed Moon landing until 2025, citing technical infeasibility

Re: So NASA will *never* make it to the Moon

Although I agree with the sentiments, there's still too much politics involved in NASA funding for the chemical shed extras.

With that said, once Starship (and Moonship) get going, Congress will have less of a reason for politics to dictate funding directions where space is concerned (subject to military dictates).

NASA advised to study up on what open source, free software, and permissive licenses actually mean

Re: BSD vs GPL

BSD license is minimalistic restriction.

If you make changes to the code and distribute/redistribute (in either source or binary form), you must include the attribution of original author in the file/with the program.

That's the only restriction that I can think of.

140,000-plus drivers sent $60m in compensation checks after Amazon 'stole their tips'

Re: UK Perspecitve

Kind of like food service - low pay + expecting tips to make up the difference rather than decent pay + tips for exceptional service (like the original meaning of "tip" for better service).

At least with food service (restaurant style), the expectation is up front rather than behind-the-scenes accounting shenanigans.

Still sucks.

SpaceX-powered trip to ISS grounded by 'medical issue'

Re: I don't want TMI

Last article I read basically said most women astronauts prefer to keep on the birth control pill without the placebo pills.

If you ever noticed them, the package comes with 2 colors of pills - the pink normal pills and the red placebo pills; the placebo pills are only there to keep reminding them to take a pill every day so they don't miss the real pills. Menstruation happens during the placebo pill phase.

No placebo pills, no menstruation.

EDIT:

https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/11/health/space-gynecology-periods-in-microgravity/index.html

CNN article from 2016 that includes a link to a study of military females as well as astronauts, as well as notes on a long-term (think no daily pill) style of birth control as well.

Re: It's probably gas...

The problem is the capsule already up there preparing to bring the old crew back has the same problem as inspiration 4 capsule - so no chance to fix it until it gets back.

Still, at least they DO have nappies available for the (hopefully) short trip back.

Real-time crowdsourced fact checking not really that effective, study says

MiB quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPMMNvYTEyI

Jay - "People are smart"

Kay - "A Person is smart. People are dumb, panicky animals and you know it!"

Google's 'Be Evil' business transformation is complete: Time for the end game

Re: Once upon a time...

Actually, ISTR in the beginning, Google was literally just a search engine. For about 5 years, they had no real revenue and no other business but website scraping to get links to tweak their algorithm.

But prior to going public, they were told they had to have a revenue stream before going public (and Wikipedia-style grants/donations were not an option)*.

It was only after they were almost forced to accept ad revenue that they changed from "Do No Evil" to "Don't Get Caught".

* Can't find the reference article since it's been years ago that I read it.

Linux Foundation, IBM, Cisco and others back ‘Inclusive Naming Initiative’ to change nasty tech terms

Re: RedHat

Senator McCarthy would like to have a word with you about the redefinition of the word "red" to mean something other than communist.

Electric car makers ready to jump into battery recycling amid stuttering supply chains

Re: "Less than 5 per cent of lithium-ion batteries are recycled today"

Unfortunately, I don't think the crayons would mulch into anything resembling healthy fertilizer.

Re: "GM is projecting an all-electric future..."

So we need something like 480GW generating capacity for a 1:1 replacement with ICE vehicles

By that standard - every house has a 100amp (min) power panel, with most newer ones having 200amp power panels.

Just looking at my street we're looking at 100x50=5K amps of electricity needed just to power my block.

Interesting that we don't even come close to the max rating per household at any given time.

(For those not math inclined, VxI=W 100a x 120v = 12Kw

What if Chrome broke features of the web and Google forgot to tell anyone? Oh wait, that's exactly what happened

Re: W3C compliance icons ...

Actually, those icons are used on the web pages coming from servers - not the browsers.

[ note to self: need to post more often to get badge level for blockquotes]

<blockquote>

The W3C "valid" icons may be used on documents that successfully passed validation for a specific technology, using the W3C validation services.

</blockquote>

Technology does widen the education divide. But not always in the way you expect

Clarification

Just to clarify poll:

Voting FOR -> Agree, technology is hindering education and creating an educational divide

Voting AGAINST -> Disagree, technology is helping education and has no effect on educational divide

Is this a correct assessment?

More Boots on Moon delays: NASA stops work on SpaceX human landing system as Blue Origin lawsuit rolls on

Re: Good Value

They don't call it the "Senate Launch System" for nothing!

You MUST present your official ID (but only the one that's really easy to fake)

Re: Patrick Duffy

"The Man From Atlantis" - a short (only a few episodes) series that bombed in such spectacular fashion that he returned to Dallas via "The Shower Scene"

Engineers' Laurel and Hardy moment caused British Airways 787 to take an accidental knee

Re: Take an accidental knee

Actually, the F14 did have to kneel before a cat shot off the carrier:

https://forums.eagle.ru/topic/202491-carrier-launch-procedure/

(step 2 after lining up with the cat)

NASA to return to the Moon by 2024. One problem with that, says watchdog: All of it

Re: Sponsored by ...

Yep - a Robert Heinlein story. Can't remember which one, but Harriman was the protagonist, and because of his efforts he was NOT allowed to go to the moon.

A more recent example would be all of the work that Elon Musk has put in for Mars, but the company would not let him go because he was "too valuable ensuring the company makes its' goals of visiting another space body to risk himself ".

The logo you were thinking of was not really put on the moon, but he would wear a button on his jacket when he went to visit companies trying to get funding. He would then tell them "This is what your competitor's logo would look like if they get there first and put their logo on the moon".

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

Mr. Fusion To The Rescue!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptlhgFaB89Y

Yep, the 'Who owns Linux?' case is back from the dead

Obviously, there are multiple people that either forgot or don't know Miracle Max.

Windows Product Activation – or just how many numbers we could get a user to tell us down the telephone

Re: A bit off topic

In the 1980's, I personally could not buy a computer from a major store without also purchasing MS-DOS. IIRC, I was told that those companies could not legally sell a bare-bones computer.

Whether the legality was due to actual law or signed contract between major store and suppliers I leave up to you to search. (hint: one aspect might be related to https://www.justice.gov/atr/complaint-us-v-microsoft)

IF I was lucky, the reseller might have the option of installing some other O/S - but that was my experience.

Must 'completely free' mean 'hard to install'? Newbie gripe sparks some soul-searching among Debian community

Re: My personal rant about all Linux variants

<quote>

What they all apparently forget or ignore, is that the majority of people don't want a computer - they want Office type applications, email, games, films and music.

</quote>

"Office type ..." is incorrect.

"MS Office on a non-MS platform"

"Photoshop on a non-MS platform"

...

And the list goes on ....

State of Iowa told no, you can’t use $21m coronavirus federal aid to help fund your $52m Workday roll-out

I read a COBOL file in 1989 on a PC ...

... would that count on my CV?

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.