Posts by jake

Reply-All storm sparked by student smut sees school system shut down Google Classroom for up to a week

Re: Surely they're using G-Suite Enterprise for Education?

"racist maths"

I just read that. And then I read it again. And then I took a shower and read it again.

The woman is loopy. Not because she's female, but because she's loopy.

Not possible?

"The mess was only possible because some students used their personal devices to share the smut, which the Directorate swears would not have been possible to access from within the schools it operates."

I'm fairly certain I just heard someone saying "challenge accepted".

Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced techie is indistinguishable from magic

Re: K-Series

Must have had a Buick engine in it.

Re: Here comes the sun.

Pretty much everywhere I've ever worked there has been a long standing feud between two halves of the population that I can't mention without being accused of being sexist ... One side always says it's too hot, the other side always says it's too cold. Facilities says "set it all to 72F, that's what the HVAC is optimized for" ... and so we listen to pretty much everyone bitch about the temperature.

Until one place I worked at upgraded the AC, and all the controls that go along with it (had to do with a couple of new clean rooms). Naturally, the folks installing all the new gear left all the old thermostats in place. They were no longer connected, so why worry about them. A friend of mine noticed one of the secretaries would inevitably turn one of these controls up, and then keep an eye on it from her desk. Within an hour, one of the engineers would stroll by & turn it down again. Then she'd turn it back up, and so on ... This dance went on all day.

So we hatched up a Plan ... with the Boss's permission, we installed unconnected thermostats quite near both the secretary and the engineer ... and removed the one they were "fighting" over. Now both could happily set "their" temperature to whatever they wanted. It worked. Both were happy, and both commented how comfy the office was with the "new, improved" controls. People in their circle of friends made similar comments. The complaining about the temperature stopped, virtually overnight.

That would have been the end of it, except ever since then I've installed faux thermostats for 'special" people. It has never failed to shut them up about the office temperature. However, be warned ... that type can always find something else to bitch about. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Re: a GUI in the office was a dim and distant dream.

The Vacuum and the computer share something in common. They both suck. The vacuum because it is supposed to, and the computer because, well, because it's a computer.

When you say "Linux" do you mean the OS or the Swiss detergent?

That would depend on how well your gloves are insulated.

Re: Magic?

Back in the day (1960s), we kept all the computer gear in the Glass House at a specific temperature for the simple reason that Core Memory liked it that way[0]. This meant leaving drives powered on. Drive hardware was pretty flaky back then, and the drives would sometimes fail on the rare re-start. As a result, the myth came about that all drives failed on restart. Which carried over to the world of PEE CEEs in the '80s.

Intelligent drive monitoring started with IBM's AS/400 line, with what IBM called "Predictive Failure Analysis" tools. These came to be known as "PFAAARGH!", for somewhat obvious reasons. This was in the early '90s. SMART drives came from an industry consortium in the mid '90s, with the first units in the market by late '95 or thereabouts.

The biggest change I witnessed with the advent of SMART technology was that it gave Management yet another excuse to cut proper backups out of the budget ... "If the drives say they aren't about to fail, why do we need to spend gobs of money on backup?" was a question I heard all too often.

[0] Little known fact: Most of the power consumed by Core Memory was used to heat it up, in order to keep it within the optimal working temperature.

Re: Remote rebooting...

This is normally caused by the user slowing down and actually doing what they are supposed to be doing, instead of flying through one tedious procedure or another as fast as possible, thus making mistakes.

Re: Magic?

While most drives back in the day were susceptible to this in one way or another, some drives were more susceptible than others. Look up stiction. Some could be coerced into starting with a quick smack to the case at just the right place in the startup cycle.

The advice was always "It;s running NOW? Good. Whatever you do, do not turn it off until you have backed up everything important on that drive. Then replace it. It is no longer trustworthy."

Re: a GUI in the office was a dim and distant dream.

Conversely, the people using DOS were looking bemusedly at the people running Macs, Amigas and Acorns, wondering how they got any work done with no software to speak of.

And those of us with clues were running BSD (or perhaps Coherent), wondering why the rest of the world was putting up with illogically thought out, intentionally hamstrung systems that basically didn't work.

Re: even before PFY

"Earlier CPUs were controlled exclusively by the motherboard's timing circuits."

Earlier CPUs didn't have motherboards.

Re: Never quite that simple

In my experience, most secretaries have been praying for the End of the Word since the version jump to 6.0 signified that Marketing was now in charge of all software releases from Redmond ...

Re: a GUI in the office was a dim and distant dream.

As were my Suns ... and the SGI Iris connected to the VAX in my lab.

Sun welcomes vampire dating website company: Arrgh! No! It burns! It buuurrrrnsss!

Re: Inappropriate garb

One potential answer:

I can't wear PJs? OK, I'll just take them off, then ...

Re: Monkey on my back

Ouch.

Have a beer, Stevie :-)

Re: Appearance et al...

IMO, playing the "Do you know who I am?" card is always inappropriate.

I've had it directed at me a couple times over the years. My response is always the same, whether I know who they are or not. I look 'em up & down with a quizzical expression, and say with complete sincerity "No. I'm sorry, I haven't the foggiest." ... it instantly deflates even the most inflated ego.

Re: Dress Code

There's a reason that ties were fair game for anyone with a pair of scissors at most early Silly Con Valley companies ... hand-built one-off prototypes often had voracious cooling fans. The theory was that if we starved 'em of ties they'd be too weak to do much other damage. Not even IBM Field Circus folks were safe from the shears ... HP, somewhat wisely, decided ties were pretty useless fairly early on, as did DEC's Palo Alto contingent. Most of the other big names followed. Some of the Military Brass working out of Ford Aerospace, Varian & etc. had special dispensation to do without neck-ware "so they'd fit in with the locals" ... We had high hopes that it'd become a world-wide movement and we'd be done with the useless things for good.

Re: Monkey on my back

So let me get this straight ... You dressed your technical writer in a teddie, and then gave the secretaries a jolly good Roger?

Tell that to kids today and they'd never believe you ...

Re: Monkey on my back

With me it's not the ball, it's the heel ... see above.

Re: Monkey on my back

I see your three-pin plugs (literally, they are HUGE) and raise you an eight-pin DIP ... The venerable 555 has a habit of landing pins-up just exactly where my heel is going to come down. I've stepped on 6 of the damn things over the years ... all drew blood, two of them left bits behind in the bone, requiring removal by a surgeon. No other IC has ever assaulted me, just the 555. Is it paranoia when they really are out to get you?

Re: Inappropriate garb? Me? Probably daily ...

Yes, rather sadly that makes you an 'alpha-male' in the eyes of idiots, which is of course a firing offense these days ... but I wonder what that makes my Wife?

Nearly two decades ago she found a Yamaha DT-1 for me to restore for her ... I had no idea, but she had wanted one in the early '70's, when her brothers were racing Hodakas and Bultacos. Hers showed up at a garage sale here in Sonoma ... A (nearly) complete roller with non-seized motor & trans, and not one but two parts bikes, all of which had been stored out of the weather since the late 1980s.

I say above that I was going to restore it for her (in her mind), but I managed to convince her to do most of the work herself. Was fun, if occasionally frustrating for both of us ... but today she can troubleshoot fuel or wiring problems, replace the clutch or rebuild the carb, do the brakes or repair a puncture, etc. with no help.

Re: Inappropriate garb? Me? Probably daily ...

Once in the rain I stopped and helped a lady with a flat tire. After waving her on her way, I put my jack & lug wrench away, and carried on to my destination somewhat dirtier & soggier than I wanted to be. When I arrived I apologized for my appearance, told the gal at the front desk that I was there to talk to the Boss about bidding on a network upgrade. The secretary spoke into the phone, and the Boss came out to meet me. He allowed as to how most folks bidding on lucrative contracts at least took a little care with their grooming, and told me to fuck off. In those words. As I was leaving, his wife walked out of the office. It was the lady I had helped. Later that afternoon, I got an apologetic call from the guy, offering me the job. I told him to fuck off and hung up the phone.

Re: Inappropriate garb

Round about 1986, right after lunch on a Monday, HR deposited a freshly-scrubbed college graduate into my lap. It came complete with suit and tie, and the cleanest, shiniest shoes I've ever seen. Immaculately turned out. Not a hair out of place, and perfect fingernails. Looked like an advert for the suit manufacturer. The body was expected, the "shiny" wasn't. I was hoping for someone with experience.

However, beggars can't be choosers, so I set him to work pulling out Token Ring and replacing it with Ethernet in the stockroom and shipping/receiving. Both cables and cards. Under floors, over ceilings, wherever necessary. (Many of y'all have been there, you know the drill ...).

He came in with the suit bright and early the next day, still an advert, but the shoes were a trifle worse for the wear. As were the fingernails. That afternoon he managed to get his tie caught in a power supply fan ...

Day three, he was in Levis, a T-shirt and sneakers like the rest of us. We didn't mention the change of costume, but he mentioned it during his first review ... He thought I had been hazing him with the cabling work. Never did convince him that no, really, that was the next thing on our agenda ... I also never told him he'd have been transferred (or let go, if HR couldn't find a place to shunt him to) if he didn't wise up in a hurry. My group was there to get things done, not to sit around and look pretty.

Re: Inappropriate garb

No, YOU wear a suit to interviews.

Re: Not actually an interview but....

Golf in a wetsuit must be a bit of a handicap.

Re: Was that said with a sarcastic tone?

I suspect it's a mild example of Poe's Law in action.

Re: Appearances can be deceptive

Many moons ago, I bid on a contract at a un*x shop. I won the contract without a face-to-face interview. When I walked in on the first morning, the guy in charge of the data center looked startled & exclaimed "Where's your beard‽‽‽" ... Despite over forty years of un*x experience, I do not now and never have had a beard. Still makes me chuckle.

On the other hand, when I left HP my hair was around 4.5 feet long ... On my way out the door, I donated it to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, to create wigs for cancer kids. I'm called "Baldy" to this day by folks who knew me in that era :-)

Inappropriate garb? Me? Probably daily ...

I've done the "visit banker after cleaning the hog pen, before showering" thing. I completely lost track of the time[0], until SWMBO reminded me. Fortunately she (the banker) grew up in a barn and can look past my peculiarities. I got the loan.

The last 9-5 I interviewed for (in 1989), I was wearing my racing leathers. All black, no logos. When the interviewer queried my choice of "uniform", I pointed out that he had asked me to drive up from Palo Alto to South San Francisco by 10AM ... and had called at 9AM. I knew I could make it on the bike, but there was no way I was driving the Bayshore without armo(u)r ... I got the job.

The 9-5 prior to that, I wore the same outfit, for similar reasons. When queried, I responded along the lines of "are you hiring an engineer or a fashion plate?" ... They made me an offer. I counter offered. They hired me at my price point.

[0] Time flies when you're having ... uh ... fun?

SAP blogger reveals top tips for keeping clients happy: Don’t swear, remember to write a pithy subject line, and TURN OFF CAPS LOCK

Re: Just to clear one point

As Granpa used to put it, "Common Sense is usually neither".

May I be the first to say ...

... that Logan Berger sounds like a complete sap?

How do you feel about single-use plastics? OK, interesting. Now tell us your views on surprise Windows updates

Out o' curiosity ...

... how much single-use plastic did it take to ask that question?

US govt proposes elephant showers for every American after Prez Trump says trickles dampen his haircare routine

Re: Why assume he will win?

The woo is stronger in the anti-Clinton cult than it is in most other political cults. To the point where their hatred for anything Clinton outweighs their dislike of Trump's proven and ongoing negatives. I know a few rabidly anti-Trump people who are going to be voting Green this coming election because in their minds, somehow voting Democrat is voting Clinton. Despite the fact that there are no Clintons running for anything. The mind absolutely boggles.

Re: It's not pressure that you want.

"There's still enough volume to do the job well."

Trump is an ass and a liar. It is more than a trickle. It does do the the job, if barely, and it takes far too long to do it. I prefer a tool that does the job exactly the way I want the job to be done, and in a timely manner. Your mileage may vary.

Re: Newer ones suck much less

Well, to be fair, some parts suck, other parts blow. Some do both at the same time ... for example, do you have an extractor fan?

Re: As a side note ...

The water for the drill rig came from a largish (4,000 gallon) water truck, which refilled at a city hydrant as needed. We could have used pond water, but it hadn't been tested yet and I was paranoid about potentially contaminating the ground water.

Thank you for your concern.

This NSA, FBI security advisory has four words you never want to see together: Fancy Bear Linux rootkit

Re: "Center"

"So Soup de Jure is a legally mandated starter?"

Not in my world ... Life's short, eat dessert first.

Re: "Center"

Typo, brain-fart, or bit-rot in ElReg's servers. You decide :-)

(For the intended meaning, see my original comment.)

Re: "Center"

"Anonymous for a good reason.... ;)"

ElReg knows your email address, IP address, etc.

So no, you are not anonymous. Not really.

HTH, HAND

Re: How nice.

"How does the nasty get deployed ? Phishing ? Targeted email ? USB carried by a sleeper agent ?"

Yes. And any other way the target lets their guard down. Same as any other rootkit.

Will there be any more questions?

Re: What nasties do the NSA, FBI, and their chums keep in their lockers?

Doesn't matter what TLA they may or may not have, nor what country they come from. I try to keep them all out of my business equally. What is on my computers is none of their damn business until a Judge legally tells me otherwise. At which point, I'll happily let them bore themselves to death, looking for stuff that isn't there.

Re: Which do you trust?

Which do I trust? Certainly not an article on Linux security that attempts to make its point using Windows tools owned by Redmond ...

Also, see ken's old ACM talk "Reflections on Trusting Trust".

Re: How nice.

"Also, it you're running Linux kernel v3 you clearly demonstrate you have no clue about IT."

Slackware (14.0 & 14.1 have no EOL at the moment) and Debian (Wheezy) still have maintained 3.x kernels. There is a need for old code on old machines. People with a clue about IT understand the realities of working with an installed base and take steps to see that it is as safe and as secure as practical. Including maintaining old kernels.

HTH, HAND

Re: Modules in Linux?

A module is a bit of code that hooks into the kernel to provide added functionality as needed. It can be hardware drivers, yes. Also support for file systems, extensions to the kernel API, and etc. They can mostly be loaded and unloaded on the fly, so no need for a reboot after some changes to the kernel in a running system (see "modular kernel" vs "static kernel"). Most modern OSes have support for this in one form or another.

As with most such thingies, there are advantages and disadvantages. I like the flexibility of modules on my working desktop machines, but prefer a static kernel in the servers (for example).

Re: "Four words you never want to see together..."

"Paint My House"

Is El Reg georestricting stories?

Re: Is El Reg georestricting stories?

"Why on earth were you downvoted for your explanation?"

Because some people apparently think that downvoting a post negates that post without a need to make a rational argument against it.

No, it doesn't make any sense to me, either.

Snortical warfare: Wild boar launches amphibious assault against German beachgoers

Re: where's obelix

Could have used that icon over there --->

What better to wash down a dozen (or so) Wild Boar?

You agree ...

... based on something seen in a work of fiction?

This is yet another sad example of why our society can't have nice things.

Re: Most Americans call people like that ...

But you're not a redneck. You're a farmer. You respect food, because you know how hard it is to produce. You shoot the pig in a way that minimizes damage to the harvest, then dress it, cook/cure it, and eat it. Same as we do here in California.

Rednecks, on the other hand, add tannerite either before, during or after shooting the pig. Because BOOM! And then they leave the carcass for the carrion eaters. Consuming it doesn't come into the equation. Same here in California.

Rednecks are, for the most part, a worse problem than the wild pigs. Including here in California. Ever have the dumbasses tear up ~4 acres of freshly planted vegetable garden, doing donuts in their pickup trucks? I have. Three times. The third time I got it all on video, with cameras at all four corners and shots from two drones. Including the cops catching them red-handed, arresting them and towing off their trucks. The Judge was not amused.

New TLD redirect?

Re: New TLD redirect?

A rose, by any other name ...

(You Brits sure are an insular lot, aren't you?)

Steve Wozniak at 70: Here's to the bloke behind Apple who wasn't a complete... turtleneck

Re: There’s a quote:

Visicalc lives on, sort of, and with a nod to Supercalc, as sc.

From your Linux shell prompt:

$ sc /usr/lib/sc/tutorial.sc

Hint: works best at 80x24, adjust your terminal emulator accordingly.

If you run a small business or two, sc's a lot more useful than you might think.