Posts by druck

The truth about that draft law banning Uncle Sam buying insecure software

Re: Another reality

That's why the article mentioned running bug bounty programs on other companies software. They might not raise CVE's themselves to be able to compete for USG contracts, but their competitors sure as hell will.

Software developer cracks Hyundai car security with Google search

Re: Hyundai used a public-private key pair from a tutorial, and placed the public key in its code

They probably just typed into co-pilot:-

//Generate a function to use AES encryption

SOFIA observatory's last hurrah set back by damage from high winds

Re: RE: expense

SOFIA may have been damaged by some rogue steps, but it's been fixed. JWST on the other hand is very vulnerable to damage from micrometeoroids, and can't be fixed. So just in case if the worse happens, I hope they keep SOFIA mothballed somewhere.

There's no place like GNOME: Project hits 25, going on 43

Re: JavaScript?

KDE used to be vastly more memory hungry than Gnome.

Gnome is now far more bloated than KDE.

KDE is still C++, Gnome is now JavaScript, draw your own conclusions.

We tested all the Ubuntu remixes for resource usage so you don't have to

Re: I've got Xubuntu 20.4 running on an Atom. So I guess Lubuntu could too.

Thanks Liam, when it next appears from the old laptop graveyard under the sofa, I'll give that a try.

I think our his & hers EEE PCs are still under there too, last seen running Debian 8 with LDXE, so might see if they'll run x86 Raspbian.

Re: Surprised by Kubuntu's comparatively small memory footprint

KDE was known as memory hog when the machines RAM was still measured in MB rather than KB, but rather than shrinking their footprint what they have done is resist the bloat that the others, particular gnome, seems to have acquired over the years.

Back in the 2000's I used to run KDE on the high spec machines at work, but my more modest home system struggled, which lead me too picking Mate desktop. But well done to the KDE developers for opening up the choice of desktops to all classes of machine.

Re: I've got Xubuntu 20.4 running on an Atom. So I guess Lubuntu could too.

The later Atoms do run 64 bit OS's, but with limited cache and memory sizes they run noticeably slower than 32 bit OS.

I dual booted Linux Mint 32 bit and 64 bit variants on an old Atom N450 netbook until 32 bit was dropped after version 19. The 32 bit OS being just about usable on such a low spec machine, the 64 bit OS was actually a little quicker when first booted, but then a lot slower when a few applications were running - the maximum of 2GB of RAM being the real killer.

Dutch authorities arrest 29-year-old dev with suspected ties to Tornado Cash

Good

When I said the people behind Tornado Cash should be up on charges https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2022/08/08/treasury_sanctions_tornado_cash_korea, I got down voted by the crypto-shills, luckily no one was listening to them.

Microsoft's Secure Boot fix sends some PCs into BitLocker Recovery

Re: "he was able to log into Azure and retrieve the recovery keys"

At my last company to Windows, I had to call IT at least every 2 months to get they key for the Bitlocker recovery screen. With a Linux only policy ever since, not a single problem with LUKS, and I've resized various partitions on the encrypted disc twice.

Meta iOS apps accused of injecting code into third-party websites

Re: If

Who in their right mind ever trusted Meta?

Security needs to learn from the aviation biz to avoid crashing

Re: Preaching to the chior

Well the government keeps going back to the same large IT companies time and time again, no matter how much of an unmitigated disaster the previous projects have been, so I doubt if mere security issues are going to persuade them to ditch these serial cock-up merchants.

US treasury whips up sanctions for crypto mixer Tornado Cash

I didn't say it would be easy to convict them, but you have to start by finding them and bring charges.

Re: Privacy Should be Protected

Crypto-apologist

It needs more than sanctions, the people behind these services should be up on charges.

Tesla Full Self-Driving 'fails' to notice child-sized objects in testing

Re: Sample size is fine

'Simulate' even - that'll teach me to post from a phone.

Re: Sample size is fine

Repeating the experiment until it eventually manages not to stimulate killing a small child, probably isn't going to be much consolation.

US Space Force deploys robot dogs at Cape Canaveral base

Hog tie

They might be able to self right, but I'm pretty sure you could knock it on to its back and hog tie it with some jumbo cable ties, it would be out of the game.

Microsoft's fix for 'data damage' risk hits PC performance

Performance hit

Oddly, the performance hit is not mentioned in the known issues for the May 24 or June 14 emissions for Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022, but at least Microsoft has come clean now, meaning those wondering why that server or laptop was running slow have an answer.

The reason was running slow is always Windows, I'm sure people are beyond caring exactly which bit.

Parallels increases prices with Desktop version 18

Re: Never again

Any piece of stand-alone software which is sold as a subscription is off the table as far as I'm concerned.

Alibaba's e-commerce arm counts carbon to encourage you to buy more stuff

"carbon ledger platform,"

I hope they haven't used blockchain for that ledger, would defeat the object of saving CO2!

Hi, I'll be your ransomware negotiator today – but don't tell the crooks that

Re: It's time to end this.

Banning cryptocurrency would stop legitimate companies from buying it.

What legitimate companies?

Re: It's time to end this.

Have you tried transferring gold over the internet?

Re: Another wrinkle to consider actively deployed to plausibly deny self-employed.

The down votes are due to your routine output of gibberish, and shouldn't be interpreted as any sort of poll result.

China allows robo taxis – without backup drivers – in parts of two major cities

Re: as an aside

How about a windowless box which can be lowered straight in to the ground in the event of an AI failure?

Be careful where you install software, and who installs it

Re: Who is your customer?

That Windows Server cluster had been designed to withstand a moderate nuclear blast with having a hot-hot config separated by approx 65km.

If the server cluster is running Windows it is unlikely to withstand a warm breeze.

Pull jet fuel from thin air? We can do that, say scientists

Re: Chemical process

There are now quite a few floating solar plants on reservoirs, so they don't have to be on land. Although these are just PV cells, if you need to focus reflected sunlight at a point, this may not work as well on a moving surface.

Financial exchange's efforts to replace core systems with blockchain founder – again

Re: doomed, doomed I say

Combining an ancient language, a decrepit processor and a useless blockchain - what could go wrong?

Sonatype shines light on typosquatting ransomware threat in PyPI

No search

With pip search disabled, I suspect there is a greater chance of succumbing to typo-squatting modules.

NASA to send prototype robot surgeon into space

Messy

Surgery on earth is pretty messy, I hate to imagine what it would be like in micro gravity, there's going to have to be a lot of suction.

Post-quantum crypto cracked in an hour with one core of an ancient Xeon

Just say no...

...to the post quantum cryptography snake oil salesman. Don't replace proven algorithms that could be broken by some fantasy quantum computer which doesn't yet and will probably never exist, with what has now been demonstrated to be vastly inferior alternatives.

US authorities threaten Alibaba with NYSE delisting

Re: Told you so

I don't know, is it a rant against CAPITALISM or for CAPITALISATION?

Told you so

I did point this out last week here https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2022/07/26/alibaba_dual_primary_listing

Got the same rant from LordRobot then too.

SpaceX upgrades Starlink to reflect less light, can't launch without its Starship

Less per lauch?

Each Falcon 9 launched 50 to 60 Starlink 1s, so if gen 2 are a bit heavier, surely you can just launch a few less on each Falcon, rather than having to wait for Starship?

Why Intel killed its Optane memory business

Re: Squeezed from both ends

Plus Intel massively overhyped the technology before launch, and the initial product was a massive disappointment, from which it has never recovered.

Micron's 232-layer NAND is a game changer for database workloads

Re: How thick?

Thanks! So it looks like they could get a few more layers on yet.

How thick?

These chips are aimed at SSDs which have quite a few mm of thickness to mount the chips on, but how many layers can a NAND chip have before it is too thick to be used in a micro SD card?

Crypto exchange Kraken reportedly hunted by the Feds for alleged sanctions busting

It's turtles crooks all the way down.

Microsoft warns Windows 10 patch broke printing for some

So you push the usual bundle of features, bug fixes and security patches to a 1000 or a million users, and how long to you wait for problems to show up? A day, a week? In the mean time all those security patches are being reverse engineered by blackhats and exploits developed and deployed before those updates go off to the other 100s millions of users.

Treating users like guinea pigs is no substitute for QA.

Re: A traditional problem

I'm pretty sure they don't use computers either.

This credit card-sized PC board can use an Intel Core i7

Fahrenheit?

FFS!

Experts warn transition to private space stations won't happen anytime soon

Actual space!

We shouldn't forget the role the ISS plays in education and inspiring new generations of engineers and scientists. My 8 year old was lucky enough to put a question to Samantha Cristoforetti live on the ISS from the Farnborough International Airshow, I kept saying to him after, you've just talked to someone in actual space!

Alibaba to upgrade its Hong Kong listing to parity with New York

US delisting hedge

Another reason is the possibility of Chinese companies being delisted from US exchanges if they fail to be transparent about their company ownership https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/05/sec_delisting_china/

Cyber-mercenaries for hire represent shifting criminal business model

export LANGUAGE=en_gb

First US spellings, now "$1.000" European thousand separators - please can we just standardise on the correct British way of doing things for a British website.

Aviation body wants views on rocket plans of Virgin Orbit

Cornwall Spaceport

We stayed just behind New Quay airport last year, and dropped in to the Spaceport on the way home. Worth a quick visit if your are in the area.

Upgrading what might be the world's oldest running Linux install

Notes from the master

I've upgraded the OS which ran on the original 256MB Raspberry Pi all the way up to Bullseye now running on a Pi 4B, but I now want to take it to 64 bit without reinstalling. There is some stuff out there about how to migrate x86 Debian from 32 to 64 bit, but some notes from the master would be much appreciated.

DARPA seeks portable muon-making machine to see through almost anything

Safety

While muons are created in the atmosphere constantly, how safe would it to be inside a building being scanned by a directed beam of these things whizzing about at 10GeV or more?

Your job was probably outsourced for exactly the reason you suspected

There are very competent developers in out sourced companies, but their primary role is to front each new contract and move on to the next, leaving you with the far less competent ones.

We had a great developer come over from India to do a proof of concept for a contact that would involve one on site role and a team off shore. He was as sharp as a knife and exceeded expectations. After they were awarded the contract, we we told this developer would not be available for on site due to family commitments back home, but would be leading the off shore team. Which he did for about a week, after which he would still answer questions on the phone, but had had been moved on to the next project and the one after.

What were left with was another on site guy who had to clear every breath he took with the out sourcing company manager, so preferred not talk to anyone. The off shore team produced very poor quality cut and paste code, the company was only interested in ticking the boxes on a spreadsheet, and not delivering anything close to a useable product.

Luckily we only wasted 3 months of money before pulling the plug.

We've got a photocopier and it can copy anything

Re: Ambivalence

The copy prevention doesn't look at wavy lines or phrases, but a pattern of 5 dots called the EURion constellation.

Re: Years ago....

Since the mid 90s copiers detect the EURion constellation pattern which is printed on most bank country's bank notes, and various other documents which shouldn't be copied.

London Stock Exchange CEO still aiming for dual Arm listing

Re: GIVE THE US CONTROL OVER ARM... and you get INTEL II

The UK is not a Tech leader. Europe is a tech leader,

You forgot the joke icon, unless you are talking about the EUs litigation against tech leaders.

But anyway you really need to get that chip off your shoulder about ARM - it's really tedious.