Posts by Sandtitz

VMware squeezes out vSphere 6.0 release candidate – or is it vSphere 2015?

Re: LTE latency

FYI,

Speedtest.net reports my LTE latency (at the moment) as 20-25ms, and I've seen even lower latencies.

10 pings to 8.8.8.8 (13 hops) averaged 56ms, ranging from 47ms to 66ms.

Perhaps your ISP just doesn't offer good service?

One Windows? How does that work... and WTF is a Universal App?

Re: Backward compatibility to 7 @Jungleland

"Also mentioned in another thread is hte fact that an SP2 for Win 7 now would reset the EOL"

Please give some references to this mysterious EOL reseting other than "another thread" please.

SHELLSHOCKED: Fortune 1000 outfits Bash out batches of patches

Re: nas and modems @Jim

Sure, I basically googled product + bash:

Synology has issued an advisory for the Bash issues.

Ditto for QNAP.

I couldn't find anything official for Thecus, but users at their forum are reporting that their Bash shells are vulnerable.

"Buffalo Linkstation hacked using Bash" reported here.

This is a bit of conjecture but for Seagate at least the GoFlex NAS has a script available that specifically calls for /bin/bash.

As it happens I cannot find anything for Lacie - perhaps I misread some forum posts, sorry for that!

Re: nas and modems @Stuart Longland

"Even a NAS, which may have big HDDs installed, won't be using those HDDs for the OS, it'll have a small flash chip somewhere with a minimal OS on it."

The "minimal OS" may be minimal compared to any desktop OS but those OS firmware downloads are often 100+ MB in size and in general reside on the HDD.

A cursory search reveals that at least the following manufacturers use or have used Bash in their NAS products.

- Synology

- Thecus

- QNAP

- Buffalo

- Seagate

- Lacie

What the 4K: High-def DisplayPort vid meets reversible USB Type C

Re: Good cables are better@rh587

"Given that Firewire was offering 400-3200Mbps"

FW800 was offering 800Mbps. 1600 and 3200 were vaporware. FW sure had its place but it's dead now.

SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD – courting speed freaks and gamers

Re: write latency scatter?

It'd be extremely interesting to see the scatter plots for the 850pro and the Extreme Pro

Go to Anandtech then to read the graphs.

They started testing the performance consistency as part of their SSD reviews after Intel lauded that aspect with S3700.

Critical Adobe Reader and Acrobat patches FINALLY make it out

Restart?

"Sysadmins should note that applying the patches will involve a system restart."

I just updated my XI and it didn't ask for a system restart.

'Windows 9' LEAK: Microsoft's playing catchup with Linux

Re: No POSIX

"Until Windows is POSIX compliant"

When will Linux be Windows compliant?

has terminal and command line that doesn’t utterly suck (I had high hopes for Powershell, and I was disappointed)

I'm not going to tell you either why I hate bash/ksh/zsh.

There are other shells available for Windows. HTH.

and plays nicely with other operating systems out of the box (UFS support, SSH, SCP and so forth)

And if MS included all those + xeyes - you and your friends would accuse Windows of "bloat", or claim that they weren't good enough and accuse Microsoft of just ticking boxes. Download putty and winscp and whatever and deal with it.

Microsoft unloads monster-sized can of bug spray on Internet Explorer, again

Re: IE

Why does IE have so many bugs? Why cant they fix it?

IE is a complex software, bugs are pretty much inevitable. You can ask the same questions about Firefox, Chrome and pretty much every software ever devised.

If you have a method for finding all bugs in software please tell us.

Perhaps the next update to IE should just uninstall it.

Why?

OpenSSL promises devs advance notice of future bugs, slaps if they blab

What about non-distros?

Several (most?) firewalls and other security appliances use OpenSSL. Are they second class citizens here?

Whopping 10TB disks spin out of HGST – plus 3.2TB flash slabs

Re: "That's not a typo. 10,000GB on spinning platters in helium"

I was Raiding over Moscow with 64KB 30 years ago.

Size matters – how else could Dell squeeze 15 million pixels into this 27" 5K monitor?

Re: Sounds nice but

Why exactly would 16:10 be more productive with this display?

Is it the pitiful 2880p vertical resolution (vs 3200p) that turns you off?

Wouldn't 16:11 be even more productive?

Windows 7 settles as Windows XP use finally starts to slip … a bit

Re: "hard core of folks" @Piro

Like I said, the average punters wouldn't see a difference in how their computer worked even if 7 did (and does) use less memory.

Upgrading Vista to Windows 7 would still be rather pointless to all those people who know nothing of the inner workings of a computer and wouldn't pay for the license and labor to have an extra 200MB memory available if all they do with their computer is online banking, casual surfing, youtube, email, social networking and such - things that will work with Vista on a low-end computer just fine. You'd be surprised how many people play e.g. World of Tanks and are happy with slow 5 fps graphics...

Re: "hard core of folks"

People use Vista because that's what came with the computer back in 2007 to 2009.

Upgrading to Windows 7 requires money and effort both which the computer owners don't care to invest in, and in the end the difference between Vista and 7 (on that 6-year-old machine) is rather small. Sure Windows 7 is better in all fronts but Vista still receives security updates (until 2017) and most Windows software still works with it.

And yes, the Windows 8 / 8.1 separation is rather ludicrous. People don't do the 8.1 update most likely because it isn't deployed through Windows Update automagically and many people* may never invoke the Store App where the free 8.1 update would be waiting.

* People like my mom/pop who call me if the program icons on the desktop have moved...

Ice cream headache as black hat hacks sack Dairy Queen

Re: My Compliments to Mr. Pauli

The subhead also - the funny prison chant in Down by Law

Uber, Lyft and cutting corners: The true face of the Sharing Economy

Re: That was a good article @Ilmarinen

Ilmarinen, I think you're unaware of the dire situation in Sweden where unregulated taxi service has lead to a state where you have to actually read the taxi fare sign before actually using the taxi service. If you're using a taxi it means you've agreed to the TOS and therefore you're obliged to pay the 500 € taxi ride to the airport from the city centre. It's highway robbery, but completely legal.

Now, consider the taxi service you're used at the moment in Finland. What's wrong with it?

Claim: Microsoft Alt-F4'd Chilean government open-source install bid

Re: Jamie Jones

So, tell me why all flash media uses FAT instead of UDF? Errr, maybe because Flash isn't a frigging optical disk, where even R/W disks can't have sectors changed as easily as on flash or a hard drive.

If you knew the subject matter better you'd be aware that UDF is not limited to optical media. Which neuters your criticism completely. Perhaps I'm unable to dumb this down to your level.

You're also claiming FAT32 to be the biggest security hole. Without references of course. The biggest security hole - after users - is Google and their lax attitude for security - "Fake ID Fiasco" and the news about apps spying on other apps without permissions and so on.

Jamie Jones

Ironically, the biggest security hole in Android is Microsoft's fault.

Why is it a security hole? Can I pwn an Android system if I insert a FAT formatted SD card into it?

Your whole rhetoric is complete garbage anyway because Windows has supported UDF for a long time. Just like all the other Operating Systems.

Most malware programs for Android are Trojan apps with no self-propagation mechanisms that get distributed from non-official app stores.

Time to move away from Windows 7 ... whoa, whoa, who said anything about Windows 8?

Re: It didn't mention Mac and Linux @AC

"Linux is insignificant on the business server side of things?"

No, but they are insignificant on the business client computer side of things.

This article is about XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 - they're all personal computer operating systems. I'm sorry for your confusion and knee-jerk reaction.

Bring on the downvotes!

Intel disables hot new TSX tech in early Broadwells and Haswells

Re: BIOS update ? @James 100

"except, having coughed up $$$$ for a high-end chip, you were then left with lousy performance on anything maths-heavy!"

Intel did have a free replacement program for the FDIV Pentiums (after people complained loudly) and the replacements cost Intel dearly, hundreds of millions or so.

The Intel CPU erratas are not rare at all, but most seem to be about "CPU locks under some offbeat scenarios" and are in general not a problem. But the FDIV produced unreliable FP calculations and it was really simple to reproduce too. Pentiums didn't support microcode updates so this couldn't have been fixed with a BIOS update anyway. (and 20 years ago getting a BIOS updates was way, way more cumbersome to get and program than today)

Chromebooks to break out of US schools: Netbook 2.0 comeback not just for children

Re: Cheap Windows PCs with Bing @John Crisp

"How do I print''

So, what do you say to the home user who didn't have a problem printing to the printer via USB or ethernet with his Linux/Windows box?

"See, the cheaper price for this chromebook allows you to invest in brand-spanking new CLOUD technology which your old printer didn't even support"

"Yes, Microsoft would love people to believe their way is the only way"

That applies to Google, Apple and many other vendors as well.

Microsoft fixes all those shaky GoPro vids nobody wants to watch

Re: POV porn

Forget porn.

This could have made Elysium and Cloverfield much more enjoyable, perhaps I could have even liked NYPD Blue back then as each episode would have been over in 5 minutes...

Zero-day hits Symantec endpoint products

Re: Symantec was always useless ... @Gis Bun

Google+ and Facebook suck - and I haven't used them.

Ransomware attack hits Synology's NAS boxen

Re: surely ...@sjaddy

"think they will ask for it in bitcoins - will be harder to track down"

Nonsense! Per the Bitcoin advocates everything is just fine and crooks refuse to use Bitcoins at all.

...Bitcoin works with an unprecedented level of transparency that most people are not used to dealing with. All Bitcoin transactions are public, traceable, and permanently stored in the Bitcoin network...

Hey, big spender. Are you as secure as a whitebox vendor?

@Tomato42

"That assumes you're using a real OS, not Windows. And since it's the suits that make the business plans, it has to be Windows compatible"

Cry me a river, you snob.

ILO, IPMI etc. are most definitely Windows compatible because Windows is the most popular OS of choice according to IDC.

They all support serial port redirection so yes, you can install your precious 'real OS' with it.

I'd never expose a server management interface to WAN without VPN/firewall. The vendors are against it too. They've all had vulnerabilities from authentication bypassing to full root access. Fully patched or not, there may well be another Heartbleed-like bug waiting and the question is which blackhatter knows it first, NSA or the Chinese?

Microsoft's Brit kid Cortana lands on UK WinPhone 8.1, but China's is the real cutie

Re: Which WinPhones will get 8.1?

Nokia has web page listing 520 and 920 (among many others) that will receive the update, and also the availability status per region/country/operator:

"Windows Phone 8 compatible phone models

Nokia Lumia 520, 520T, 521, 525, 526, 530, 530 Dual SIM, 620, 625, 630, 630 Dual SIM, 635, 720, 720T, 810, 820, 822, 920, 920T, 925, 925T, 928, 930, Icon, 1020, 1320 and 1520."

CAPTCHA challenges you to copy pointillist painter Seurat's classic

The next obvious steps in captcha town

"Please duplicate Madonna's Vogue gestures with your webcam"

"Please whistle Bohemian Rhapsody using your microphone"

"Give me your boots your clothes and your motorcycle"

Not to mention the TOS of sites will probably claim ownership of all your works.

Philip K Dick 'Nazi alternate history' story made into TV series

Re: Here's more hoping...

I know Ridley did Blade Runner, but then again he also did Prometheus

Prometheus wasn't a bad film at all. Stop whining.

What's inside AMD's life-support machine? A big pile o' PlayStation 4s and XBox Ones

Re: Osborne effect

Yes it is.

The thing is - all the players (Intel, AMD etc) are announcing new products at least annually - if not new architectures, at least a bit faster CPUs and GPUs. That's not a secret. Fastest anything this year won't be fastest next year, and you can save your money for something better on a certain price point indefinitely.

People who need a new computer immediately will just buy whatever is on the market today.

Seagate chances ARM with NAS boxes for the SOHO crowd

@Trevor

The Seagate Blackarmor NAS series was utter garbage, Oracle-licensing-class bad!

Seagate has access to cheaper hard drives than all other competitors (excluding WD), so they could compete with price, but probably they'll trust on brand recognition...

FireEye patches OS, torpedos Exploit-DB disclosure

Re: If FireEye uses OpenSSL is not an IT security

So, uh, which security company does not rely on OpenSSL?

Microsoft?

Insecure AVG search tool shoved down users' throats, says US CERT

Useful toolbar?

Has there ever been a useful browser toolbar?

Google Toolbar was highly useful for IE users until up to IE6 because there was no built-in search box.

Star Wars: These are the 'unknown' actors we were looking for

Re: Fan Bingbing?

Really, someone wanders around planet Earth with the name Fan Bingbing?????

Yes.

What were his/her/its parents thinking?

They probably thought of giving her a "typical and good Chinese girl's name".

Or is it some odd effect of Equity demanding unique names for members?

What...? Do your siblings and parents share the same name with you?

What an ignoramus.

Start packing your bags for a Windows Server 2003 migration

Re: FUD

"...it won't be long before they also abandon support for Windows Server 2008"

2008 Server loses support in 2020 after 12 years. So it's only half-way into oblivion.

Now, which Linux would you suggest with the same or superior support lifecycle?

"I hope all of you sysadmins have your touchscreen servers ready."

Nah. In 2020, Server 2012 is probably superseded by 1 or 2 newer Windows releases with everything done with the Xbox controller and Kinect. :-)

Re: Hardware support

"You would think that as single server hardware gets older and no longer supported (looking at you HP) that would be a big push to upgrade. After all, that's what is most likely to fail."

Does HP really offer worse HW support than the competition? The initial warranty for HP Proliants is 1-5 years and can be extended with a support agreement or annual care pack registration. A single failing HDD may be enough to offset the care pack costs for a year or two.

When it comes to servers I very rarely decommission one because it fails. Likely causes are lack of software support for the old OS (eg. 3rd party support for Win2000), expensive HW upgrades (check the availability and price of SCSI drives or ECC DDR1 for example), memory limits of 32-bit Windows, and obsolescence of the 3rd party software for which the server was dedicated.

Whether it is cost-effective to continue using say, 10-year-old server instead of replacing it with a faster and/or more energy-efficient model, or at least virtualising it is another thing.

You 'posted' a 'letter' with Outlook... No, NO, that's the MONITOR

Re: All too familiar

"Oh I recently changed it. It's Windows 8.1"

"No, dad. That's your Operating System. I'm trying to determine which version of Internet Explorer you have. So hold down the alt key..."

A more clever person could have deduced the IE version from the "Windows 8.1" clue.

Carry on.

Own goal as World Cup Wi-Fi passwords spilled in newspaper snap

Re: A shining example

"But given the password quality"

10 alphanumeric characters could even mean it's a 64-bit WEP key!

ARRRRR. Half world's techies are software PIRATES – survey

I must confess...

I've been using Winrar beyond the eval. period...and approx 90% of my C-64 games were copies!

32,000 motherboards spit passwords in CLEARTEXT!

@Alan

If you ask the official El Reg Supermicro champion (Trevor Pott), you'll find out that Supermicro HAD in the past an unstable IPMI implementation but it is now rock solid.

Sony CEO forced to shush shareholder heckling at fiery AGM

Re: Sony=Phoney

I take it you're a VAIO user?

VAIOs may have a wifi issue (that I was unaware of until your post) but unless that problem is the culprit for Sony's misfortunes - you don't have a point unless the CEO is micromanaging the laptop production. The head of VAIO division perhaps should roll if the debacle is due to poor QA or cutting costs for the sake of it.

Researchers warn of preloaded spyware in Android handsets

Re: Malwarebytes for Android free

Why yes, all the cheapskates who bought this Chinese knockoff should just download this AV software from the fake Play store and it'll magically purify the phone and remove the trojan embedded in the firmware.

Oh dear. Go peddle your non-solutions somewhere else.

HP Simplivity buyout rumours: Could it be worth HALF a BILLION?

Re: Ridiculous! - indeed...

EVERY ACQUISITION THEY MADE HAS FAILED!

Every? Please explain how Compaq, Lefthand, 3PAR and 3COM acquisition failed. Was buying EDS a failure too?

Yes, HP has made ludicrous, astoundingly monumental acquisition mistakes most notably with Palm and Autonomy.

There's a handy list of acquisitions by HP and I certainly can't recognize most of the companies HP has bought even recently.

Google to let Chromebookers take video content OFFLINE

Re: But no network shares @Craigness

"The last time I did any work where there was no internet connection was 2008. That was on a train, and trains now have wifi."

Good for you.

1. My home connection has had flaky moments at times. But perhaps I'm the only one...

2. Aeroplanes don't have wifi.

3. Commercial ferries may have but the connection is generally pitiful. See 4.

4. Maritime satcom in general is slow. And flaky.

5. Wifi isn't a problem in urban areas. At times I work in areas where all I have is GPRS or EDGE. Syncing anything through that these days is infuriating.

6. My PHB hates my cellular roaming costs.

But the foremost practical reason why I couldn't work with a Chromebook is that I need configuration/diagnostics software that isn't available for anything else but Windows.

"If you want books, music, videos etc offline then a Chromebook will suffice."

So everything I throw at VLC works with Chromebook too? Good to hear.

Happy Birthday Tetris: It's flipping 30

Re: The perfect game

Nethack > Boulder Dash > Civ 1 > the rest.

There.

YOSEMITE GLAM: Apple unveils gussied up OS X

Re: At what point will they...@AC

"People who know how to calculate lifetime costs of kit love them too."

Care to elaborate?

The kit is great, too bad that OS isn't supported for very long. For Long Term Support you'd actually have to install Windows or Linux on the damn thing!

Microsoft's NEW OS now runs on HALF of ALL desktop PCs

Re: Its not suprising.. @Daniel B

When MS was strong-arming OEMs to sell only Win8 boxes

When was this?

I've installed numerous HP's since Windows 8 was released and all those computers with the Windows 8 Pro badge have come with Windows 7 Pro pre-installed.

Sounds to me you're talking of consumer PC's (Where Windows 8 prevails) and that doesn't compute with your Fortune 500 "experience".

Chuh. Heavy, dude: HP ZBook 17 mobile workstation

Re: Like or not, a Pro machine by the (ancient) book. @Mr Beggaley

"There are 15-inch and 14-inch versions too, the former available with a 3200 x 1800-pixel option [...]"

>Why the hell isn't the 17" model available with that resolution?

That resolution is called QHD+ and no display manufacturer offers that in 17" format. Thus HP and others can't offer it either.

Are there 17" displays with anything higher than even FHD? Apple had a 17 incher 1920x1200 a couple years ago and that's it I'm afraid. 17" is too much of a niche and a small run of very high res displays would be very expensive to do.

What's that crunching noise? Lenovo running over rivals' bones

@CBMVic20

They also made my Thinkpad Tablet which sported a locked bootloader and is thus restricted to Android 4.0.3 and isn't upgradeable to Cyanogen because of this Secureboot malarkey. Lenovo refuses to hand over the keys to this somewhat obsolete hardware.

Oh, and the microUSB port is prone to failure due to poor construction. As it's the only (reasonable) way to charge the tablet it looks definitely like this was my last Lenovo mobile product for a looong time.

Sonos turns up volume, slips out new Wi-Fi speaker control app

Re: Musaic - coming soon

How exactly is that vaporware better than Sonos?

If you can't back up that statement, pls take your advertisements elsewhere.

Nintendo says sorry, but there will be NO gay marriage in Tomodachi Life ... EVER

Re: Who?

I'll boycott the game if I can't get married in it in Jim Jones' Peoples Temple!

I see lots of Kool-Aid drinkers here...