Posts by jake

Robot vacuum cleaner employed by Brit budget hotel chain Travelodge flees

IT? No need ... bootnotes.

"it has no natural predators,"

Are you sure of that?

Here's an update of a story I first re in these pages about 5 years ago.

We got four robotic vacuums for Xmas one year (SWMBO's relatives are in cahoots, it would seem). We called them all FRED, short for Fucking Ridiculous Electronic Device, and turned one loose on each floor to see what would happen. The cats ignored them, but the dawgs took an instant dislike to them. They all met their demise in under three days.

The first to go was FRED four (the one supposedly patrolling my attic office space). It was found beeping most piteously in a mud puddle under a rhododendron at the far end of the dawg's run. It never rolled again. FRED three disappeared. We never did find it[0]. FRED two kept mysteriously falling down the uncarpeted back-stairs, until the magic smoke came out. FRED one somehow wound up in the laundry sink while a load of wash was running. None of us actually observed the roboticide as it was occurring, so we don't know who the perp(s) is/are ... but my money is on the very elderly Standard Poodle, who had a rather guilty, yet satisfied look about him for a week or so afterwards.

Needless to say, we didn't repeat the experiment.

[0] Update: FRED three was found in the crawl-space under the feed barn about a year later. I have no idea how it got there, the only entrance large enough for it to physically fit is the locked trap door in the floor, and I have the only key.

Why should I pay for that security option? Hijacking only happens to planes

As the great Bill Watterson taught us, "Verbing weirds language". Weirding is not a bad thing, especially in informal writing/speech. Unless you lack the humo(u)r gene, of course, in which case I feel very, very sorry for you.

_{Generic "you", not you personally, Tom 38. Allow me to beer you.}

Re: Ah, yes. The dreaded "fix it NOW!" call ...

I take it you don't make your own specialty capacitors. Try fleabay if you don't have a local industrial supply.

Ah, yes. The dreaded "fix it NOW!" call ...

The magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake hit us on October 17th 1989, at 5:04 PM-ish Pacific time. It was centered approximately 30 miles SSE of my home. PG&E power and Ma Bell landlines were out over almost all of the Bay Area. My acting boss called my obsolete and due to be replaced DynaTAC at 5:10 PM & screamed that he would fire me if I didn't fix it immediately. I told him that he needn't have wasted money on the phone call, he could have just opened the window and bellowed. And then I hung up.

I have hated cellular telephones ever since ... not because of what they are, nor what they can do, but rather for how they are actually (ab)used.

Pop quiz: The network team didn't make your change. The server is in a locked room. What do you do?

Re: Dave?!

Because Dave's not here, man ... any fule nos that.

Re: The bloke who arrived a few minutes later said it happened all the time.

PALM OIL IS RUINING THE PLANET!

Oh, wait, wrong forum ...

Re: Out of date building plans

"your not a real network guy until the buildings layout has changed beyond recognition of the documented floor plan..."

Seeing as "as built" rarely coincides with the filed plans, that would be pretty much every building, no?

Re: Out of date building plans

"~40ft up on a ladder from a farm forklift."

The wife caught me doing that when I was wiring the lights on the ridge beam in the big arena.

The budget suddenly included a boomlift.

After eyeballing rental prices, I bought a used one. Has probably saved me over a hundred thousand dollars owning the thing over the years. The second most useful piece of equipment around here, after the two bobcats.

Re: Out of date building plans

Star Trek & Shatner. Not the film, the TV show. All of them.

_{OK, no need to yell, you're right, the films too,}

Been there, done that.

I've gone under raised floors, too. And once knocked a hole through the sheetrock adjacent to the door, reached through & opened the door. And several times I simply picked the lock.

A buddy took out a cold chisel and mini-sledge (lump hammer to you Brits) and physically removed a couple cinder blocks once. He was even nice enough to repair it later (his Dad was a bricklayer and he earned pocket money as a teenager, helping him on weekends).

One does what one must to keep the bits flowing ... although these days one would likely be thrown in jail for even daring to voice such options.

Hive View security camera customers left in the dark as some gear gives up the ghost

Re: Hive

I'd comb my brain for a smart-assed reply to pollinate the conversation, but I doubt the commentardery want me to wax lyrical.

Makes one wonder ...

... how long the entire "cloud" charade will continue.

First they came for Notepad. Now they're coming for Task Manager

Re: Microsoft recommended a reboot

You can get a shiny new OS/2 license for $129/seat. Runs nicely on (some) up-to-date and modern hardware. Worth looking at, if you feel the need for that kind of thing. Recommended.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcaOS

Re: Who Cares?

Aye. Win2K was peak Microsoft.

Re: Stupid questions

I do not remember "app" beginning to be used as common shorthand until roughly 2005, and it didn't really take off until the release of the first iPhone (2007?) ... Prior to that, "Application Software" was used in contracts (and by suits), "program" was used by everybody else. Smaller programs were called "utilities" or "tools". Some used "executable files" (or .exes) and ".com files" on DOS. There was also separation of binaries, filters and scripts.

But APPS? Not so much. Not in my memory, anyway. With one exception ... the proverbial "killer app" (mid 1980s?), which was mostly just used as a term in the media and by certain rah-rah types in marketing (see: iPhone, above).

"So far it looks more like a "meh"."

FTFY

Re: Oh, do fuck off. It's my machine. I admin it, not Redmond.

"the writers of commercial software will want to move to charging rent rather than selling stand alone applications."

They can want whatever they like. They are still not getting another dime of my money. FOSS solutions work just fine, and I can (and do) pay in kind. It does not bother me that some people use the code for free, and don't even bother finding out if they can contribute ... that's what it's there for.

"Perhaps file sync to data stores in the 'cloud' (i.e. landlord's servers) is better for ordinary people."

Why? Because they have to pay for it and/or give up all of their personal details and/or their firstborn (just wait ... ) in order to use it? How does that help them remember their username, password, and where, exactly, their files are stored? More to the point, how does that help a tech find their missing files, should that kind of help become necessary?

I won't get into the concept of increasing the size of the attack surface with clouds, much less the unknown number of attack vectors introduced by clouds ...

Re: Please bundle Process Explorer directly...

"you both followed the FAQ, and ignored it in equal measure"

I did nothing of the sort. I pointed the user at the FAQ, not the mailing list or newsgroup. That's what the FAQ is for, to take a portion of the load off the more interactive forums.

Re: Heaven help us....

THAT'S NOT FUNNY, MAN!

_{Have a beer. And an upvote :-)}

Re: Who Cares?

Linux printing problems pretty much went away twenty+ years ago.

Old jokes are old.

Re: Ranting 'cause you love to rant?

ps and kill (when needed) work for me ... although I admit to a fondness for both top and htop.

Re: This is why some are still on Win7.

"*Frustrated sigh*"

I hear that all the way up here in Sonoma. Relax, have a beer.

Question for you ... are you aware of the Knoppix Linux distribution's "Adriane" option? In a nutshell, it is developed by a guy and his wife, who is blind. It's been in continuous development for about 15 years now, so it's not a flash in the pan.

A live CD or DVD image of the latest version (9.1) can be downloaded from the usual mirrors ... It addresses most, if not all, of the gripes you are venting about when it comes to Redmond's clusterfuck. It's based on Debian, so is as up to date as anything else. A couple friends of mine use it, and report Klaus and Adriane (his wife's name is Adriane, thus the name) are quite responsive to feedback, both positive and respectful negative.

The basic distro is one of the easiest Linux distros to use ... I sometimes suggest it to newbies because of the well thought out live CD and DVD. Simply enter "adriane64" as a boot option to start Knoppix with the screen reader and other helpful bits and bobs running. It'll find your network. The text browser is elinks. It supports braille terminals. (Entering "adriane" as your boot option runs the 32-bit version, if your hardware is old or you prefer it that way.)

For more:http://knopper.net/knoppix-adriane/index-en.html

The forum:http://knoppix.net/forum/forum.php

Knoppix official mirrors: http://knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html

Re: Please bundle Process Explorer directly...

"web-virii"

In English, virii is properly pronounced viruses. In Latin, the word virii doesn't exist.

See the FAQ, section F, question 3.

Re: There's gonna be carnage!

There's an echo in here.

Re: It's a data-gathering program very thinly disguised an an OS.

We didn't start talking about Android. You, on the other hand, did.

To answer your non sequitur question: No, it's not fine. Nor did the poster suggest otherwise.

Re: Oh, do fuck off. It's my machine. I admin it, not Redmond.

So you honestly think that Microsoft should stop people from being allowed to mess with the equipment that they bought and paid for?

But you'll make an exception for li'l ol' me? VERY magnanimous of you.

Re: Stupid questions

I don't use APPS. I use programs.

The only tool you list that I use is AutoCAD ...ACad2K on Win2K, to be precise. It works perfectly (is over-kill, even) for my needs, no need to ever upgrade. I am slowly moving to a FOSS solution, though.

Before you say it, the NT system is airgapped.

In the last couple decades, the down-time spent upgrading/patching/swearing at the tools I choose to run is on the order of perhaps 5 minutes per month. Maybe. In a bad month. One of my laptops is coming up on twenty years old, still runs my solution for tools (including the NT system, with dual boot, if needed). Yourself? How much money have you/your employer had to spend chasing Redmond in all that time? Costing you/your employer how much money?

Not quite so ridiculous a question, now is it?

Re: cognitive dissonance

Can you point to where, exactly, I ever said (or even hinted) at that?

Thought not.

"the Windows 11 design aesthetic"?

Aesthetic? Oh, c'mon ElReg, I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that ... but are you seriously suggesting there is anything resembling art in the design of the Windows 11 interface?

Re: Ranting 'cause you love to rant?

"which proves again that you should not have admin rights in fist place."

Oh, do fuck off. It's my machine. I admin it, not Redmond.

Out of curiosity, what flavo(u)r was the cool aid?

"Stockholm Syndrome?"

Of course it is.

The cognitive dissonance displayed by Windows supporters/advocates is breathtaking.

Re: Microsoft recommended a reboot

If you don't want to be seen making an ass of yourself, you might want to ask someone why Shakespeare's Bottom was an ass ...

Re: Microsoft recommended a reboot

They've been saying that since before MS-DOS 2.x

Privacy is for paedophiles, UK government seems to be saying while spending £500k demonising online chat encryption

"Incidentally several US states still allow legalised marriage at the age of 10."

Much younger, actually. Technically. With a court order and parental consent. Remember, a marriage is legally a contract. Minors are not allowed to enter into a contract, their parent(s)/guardian(s) must do it for them.

With that said, the age for general marriage across the United States is 18, with exceptions in Nebraska (19) and Mississippi (21).

With parental consent and/or a court order to issue a marriage license, that age can drop. Many states allow these "underage marriages" at 16, with a few at 17 (9) or 15 (3), and one at 14 (Alaska).

6 states do not allow minors to marry at all.

9 states have no minimum marriage age codified in Law ... in theory, a newborn could be legally married with both parental consent and a court order. Good luck getting that court order, though, even if the parents are stupid enough to allow it. In these states (which includes California (surprise!)) it is extremely rare for a marriage to be allowed if one of the parties is under 16. Last time I looked it up, 15 year olds were around 4% of the total underage marriages. Under that age, the numbers were well under 1% in total, with 14 year olds being the vast majority. The youngest I am aware of this century is three marriages of 10 year olds in Tennessee (all girls), and one 11 year old boy in the same state. Tennessee has since changed their law, making it illegal for anyone under 17 to marry.

There is no federally set age for marriage.

Re: Encryption

Who said anything about guns?

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." —Benjamin Franklin, 1759

Yeah, but ...

... try telling that to kids today!

I'm roughly the same age as you, and can report similar from my childhood (I'm in California). Except I wasn't afraid of nuclear war ... Living about 4 miles from Moffett field, I knew that we probably wouldn't even survive long enough to register the flash ... As my Dad put it,"We won't need to worry about fallout because we'll be the fallout".

Re: Encryption

You mean screwdrivers don't kill people, people kill people?

Conversation starter for your government officials:

Why do you have a door between your toilet and the rest of the house? Why don't you have a plate-glass window to the street in your shower? Why do you have curtains on your bedroom windows? What are you hiding? Are you a paedophile?

Ad blockers altering website code is not a copyright violation, German court rules

Re: Ads?

My email client isn't b0rken enough to anything other than display text, as the late Ray Tomlinson intended.

RIP, Ray. And thank you.

Foxstuck: Firefox browser bug boots legions of users offline

Re: "Waterfox users were totally unaffected. ®"

A graphical browser? What a waste of resources.

Just a couple days ago I was running Lynx on my own much-hacked version of the Bourne shell on a VAX hosting 4.2BSD on all of 4 megs of RAM. Still works just as well as it did about three decades ago :-)

Re: "Waterfox users were totally unaffected. ®"

"OS/2 is stupid expensive these days."

Nope. You can get a shiny new OS/2 license for $129/seat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArcaOS

Tesla driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after deadly Autopilot crash

Re: Even Aircraft

Flying far too low, and much too slow, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 skimmed the seawall at the approach to SFO's runway 28L on the morning of July 6th, 2013. Amazingly, most of the passengers and crew survived.

Re: Missing the root cause of the problem

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." —Benjamin Franklin, 1759

"the driver is, being American, heads down and playing on his phone"

Way to paint 330,000,000 people with one brush. Proud of yourself?

Re: New Name for Autopilot needed

Nader was an idiot. Probably still is. Let's not glorify him, m'kay?

Re: Good

Musk isn't smart enough, even if he plays one on TV.

Re: Assisted cruise control

"I'm really not a fan of these semi-autonomous systems."

Me neither. Being a car guy, and a computer guy, and a guy who knows how sensors, servos, actuators and the like work and can be combined, I know how much can go wrong. Frankly,the concept of self-driving vehicles sharing the road with actual human drivers scares the shit out of me. Far, far too much to go wrong.

Microsoft seems intent on buying the gaming industry with $68.7bn purchase of troubled Activision Blizzard

Re: QA & Testing

"but given the last couple decade's debacle with updates they could spend a fraction of that on some decent QA and make a lot more people happy."

FTFY