Posts by KA1AXY

We've got a photocopier and it can copy anything

Re: Don't know if it's just that my coffee hasn't kicked in yet...

Ummm...Outer Nowhere, US Southern State?

You do realise that not all states have...the highest quality...educational systems?

"Hey, Cletus! Hold ma beer and watch this!"

Outlook email users alerted to suspicious activity from Microsoft-owned IP address

Re: Some possible explanations

"No one can protect you from us like we can protect you from us!"

Huawei under investigation for having tech installed near US missile silos

Re: Mass paranoia

Sounds like a bit of a reach.

How would Huawei know where a given item was located? And building "missile monitoring" tech into every piece of equipment just on the off chance it would end up near a silo? That's pretty expensive. And what, exactly are they sniffing? Missileers' cell phone calls? They can do that without any special equipment through any number of "law enforcement" backdoors.

Disentangling the Debian derivatives: Which should you use?

Re: Debian

Used Ubuntu, until they went all blocky and Untiy-like.

Currently on Mint MATE 20.3, which seems to work just fine for me.

Just because you failed doesn't mean you weren't right

Re: Basic QC

I was once at a well known testing lab, and our product failed their mains leakage current testing (which it shouldn't have). We asked them for the data on the test equipment used, and they produced the manufacturer and model number. I found one on eBay cheap, and purchased it.

Using it (as received, i.e.: uncalibrated) to test our gear, I came up with the same numbers the testing lab had. After scratching my head a bit, I went back to the IEC spec and read the paragraph on the test, which helpfully provides a test method using a simple test circuit and a meter. When tested using the recommended setup, we easily passed.

Moral of the story is, of course, "don't trust it just because it has an LED readout and a computer inside"

Whatever you do, don't show initiative if you value your job

Re: "So was James truly the guilty party?"

M$ had design guides and lists of 'best practises' for programmers...

It was a different time...

HP pilots paper delivery service for Instant Ink subscribers

Re: HP Printers

I have an LJ5. Old HP printers *still* rock!

You can still get them used/refurb for not much. Supplies and parts still available. Built like brick outhouses and should be the last printer you'll ever need. Mine came to me free, from a local law office who put it on their doorstep and posted it on the local freecycle page. Needed about $150 of parts to get running. Works like a champ.

Planning for power cuts? That's strictly for the birds

Not recognizeable, anyway, after they've been through the fan.

Re: nail Boom .....

...or two additional bulbs, in this case :-)

Re: I say it's plausible

And why wasn't the flap assembly made of stainless steel?

"Too expensive"

Re: I say it's plausible

True that. I have noticed that I, as an engineer, spend a lot of time thinking along the lines of, "yes, but what if...", where those who think on higher planes, seem to think that things will "just work".

something, something, "those who can't, manage"

Software guy smashes through the Somebody Else's Problem field to save the day

Re: What Derek needed to do...

What Derek needed to do...was stand up to his boss and tell him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to listen to a dressing down as if he was a small child.

"Boss," Derek should have said, "what I did may have been outside the lines, but the plant was down and in my professional judgement, I did what I felt needed to be done to remedy the fault. We may disagree about that, but let's discuss it like adults. If you can't do that right now, please call me when you feel you can"

Halfords invents radio signals that don't travel at the speed of light

Re: If DAB is faster than FM

Why do all DAB radios have such pisspoor user interfaces?

I hate to break it to you...but it seems to be a growing trend...and it's not restricted to DAB radios :-)

Maybe because the UIs are designed by Chinese who don't give a sh*t as long as they make money?

Sad, but true. The last good UI I saw was on a Nokia phone in the 90s.

'That roar is terrific... look at that rocket go!' It's been 52 years since first Saturn V left the pad

Re: A very poor fake

"NASA is DOD"

You're full of it.

I know what Buzz Aldrin would say to you. And how he would say it.

Wait, wait – I got it this time, says FCC as it swings again at rip-off US TV cable boxes

cut the cord

The only reason to have cable TV at all is live sports. Otherwise, the internet provides far better, watch-anytime, alternatives.

Simply by canceling my cable, I halved my bill from Comcast. My phone is through ooma at $15/mo. $70/mo for 35/15 internet is still too much, but it's half what I was paying..

BOFH: Follow the paper trail

Re: Sounds like

As someone who actually did some psychology as part of a Natural Sciences degree in a university where psychology was part of the science faculty, and did things involving rats, electrodes and neurones you have no idea how much this type of 'psychology' annoys me.

I hope you remembered to mount a scratch monkey...or rat, whichever was appropriate

Microsoft won't back down from Windows 10 nagware 'trick'

Re: While we are bashing MS...

Or, he could do what I did for my brother -- install Linux Mint. For the exact reason that it does not randomly break things, or catch viruses.

If I'm doing free support for relatives, no matter how much I enjoy seeing them, I want to minimize the time we spend working to fix their computer. That's not quality time.

Gillian Anderson: The next James Jane Bond?

Re: Tom Hidlestone?

Liked the TTSS movie, also The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. But LeCarre's books always leave me without any faith in my ability to judge people, and in a pretty black funk. I suppose they're meant to, He is a terribly good author, though.

I don't think I would have the temperament to be a spy.

Theranos bins two years of test results

Nope. Not buying what you're selling. I worked hard at uni to become the best engineer I could, and have spent my entire life learning. I have met a few who never finished uni and went on to become great engineers, but by far the best and brightest managers and developers I have met have been the first to admit they do not have all the answers and need to keep learning. You stand a much better chance of creating a breakthrough if you have experience in the field.

I refuse to admit that the Theranos CEO knew enough about biology, testing or medicine to start that company. She took a leap of faith, based on flimsy understanding and youthful optimism, and sold it to others, who are at fault for not doing due diligence. You do understand that term, I hope, as it is crucial to making intelligent investment decisions. If you do not understand the tech in which you plan to invest, find someone who does, and have them dig deep before you invest. Clearly, that was not done, and the result is that a lot of folks were taken in by Elizabeth Holmes and her unfounded optimism.

Real progress comes by hard work much more frequently than it does from an outsiders inspired guesswork. Holmes took a guess and her lack of background or experience caught up with her.

You would not expect a special snowflake who has not completed university to know this, although one could argue that she should have. You WOULD expect venture capitalists and others lending their names and cash to a startup to have a much more skeptical view and to have done true due diligence. Those caught out by the Theranos hype (with the exception, of course, of the innocent patients) richly deserve their fate.

NASA 'Kilo-Kitty' Super Pressure Balloon goes aloft at last

1 whale = how many Bulgarian airbags?

Is uBeam the new Theranos?

Re: Worlds best tranducer, Worlds best microphone

Path loss, and beam spreading. However, it works GREAT underwater :-)

Microsoft boots fake fix-it search ads

Re: I don't know why people are so fucking stupid

Clever. Using the correct website is the first part of the test.

I just ask him why Microsoft is calling about my Linux machine.

Aussie wedges spam javelin in ring spanner

Re: Bah!

According to the photo accompanying TFA, metric, 22mm

Non-police orgs merrily accessed PNC without authority, says HMIC

Re: 1970s Fujitsu mainframe

The fact that it's still operating is an accomplishment of which the owner(s) should be proud.

Barbie-brained Mattel exec phell for phishing, sent $3m to China

Video, or it didn't happen.

We bet your firm doesn't stick to half of these 10 top IT admin tips

Re: One rule to rule them all

Token ring?

You have my sincerest sympathy.

Re: I recently received a phishing attempt

I regularly delete any request to "verify" my account. If it's blocked I'll call and have it unblocked. That has never been necessary.

New parents usually learn that AFTER the pger has been flushed.

Re: Nowhere to hide

Thanks to HIPAA, I now get content free emails from my doctor and pharmacy, reminding me of an appointment (withholding the date and time), or prescription renewal reminders (withholding name of the medicine).

I ask you, what purpose do these emails serve? Mind you, I have expressly opted in and agreed to a lengthy pile of legalese in order to get them. Yet, apparently, "email is not secure", so names of medications and time of appointments must be withheld, even if I have requested them to be sent to me.

Idiots. And expensive as well.

PayPal freezes 400-job expansion in North Carolina over bonkers religious freedom law

Re: States rights & hypocrisy

"States rights" is code for "let us discriminate and don't tell us we can't"

At least, that's how it seems lately

Old, white, hetero male here. I could care less abt the technical details. As long as there are bathrooms available, and everyone can do their business in peace and relative comfort, the gender, assigned or natural, of the person in the next stall is of no concern to me, nor should it be to you.

I have plenty of more important things to worry about, and so, I suspect, do you.

Re: "...bathrooms across North Carolina were 'safe' again."

John, what prevents "male perverts" from entering female bathrooms today? A law? By the time the cops show up, the offender is gone?

And...is this "male pervert" problem of great concern where you live? It's not where I live.

Re: America

@BigJohn

For my entire time at university, 18 - 22 year old men and women shared the same bathroom and shower. There were some initial issues, but they were dealt with in a way that prevented further problems.

Now, in this case, we are talking about adults. I predict even fewer issues.

I think your fears are unjustified and I base this upon personal experience.

Re: America

Parts of it are. The rest of us are doing our best to cope.

Space archeologist discovers new evidence of Vikings invading America

Re: Does this mean

Don't forget radio...and more importantly, building an extremely profitable business around it.

Ordnance Survey unfolds handy Mars map

Re: Those damn Martians....

They'll just get a copy of whatever they need from NIMA/DMA/NGA or whatever the US mapping agency is calling themselves this week.

You've seen things people wouldn't believe – so tell us your programming horrors

Real Programmer should be capitalized...:-)

Why does herbal cough syrup work so well? It may be full of morphine

Re: Tip of the iceberg

"We"???

I've got all the lead and melamine I need in my diet already

In surprising news today

Chinese made "herbal medicine" contains something not on the list of ingredients.

Color me shocked...not

Recall: Bring out yer dead and over-heating Microsoft Surface Pro power cords

Re: Are "electronic" components involved in the failure?

AKA: Quality Chinese Engineering

...just how cheaply can we make it and still have it work (for a very lax definition of "work")

Viglen staff mark CEO Tkachuk's passing with a royal tribute

Re: Umm. news?

Just keep a quart bottle by your desk.

Cardinal sin: Ex St Louis baseball exec cops to 'hacking' rival team's db

"Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead."

HPE's London boozer dubbed the 'Hewlett You Inn?'

We have Top Men on the job.

Top Men.

// "man", actually...

Americans massively back call for more police body camera tech

No War on Police, but...

...we would like them held to the same standards we are held to. Little things, like telling the truth in court and not covering up for each other. Seems like this is enough of a problem that the unbiased view provided by cameras is necessary.

Aroused Lycra-clad cyclist prompts Manchester cop dragnet

Re: Nips?

The only sensible thing to do, would have been to take multiple photos of this outrage, preferably from several angles, to be used in court.

Riddle of cash-for-malware offer in new Raspberry Pi computers

Spam, not a serious offer. Although, I'll bet they spam this out to PC integrators and get a nibble or two from those at the bottom of the barrel, I.e.: white box builders in china.

Facebook arrives at commonsense 'real names' policy

Re: I wouldn't dream of using a fake name on Facebook.

I use my real name, but all the information I supply is false

Outsourcer didn't press ON switch, so Reg reader flew 15 hours to do the job

Re: what colour are the lights?

Am a colorblind hardware designer, can verify. Which is why I scrupulously avoid using bicolor LEDs, and prefer the "traffic light" green to the old yellow-green type in my designs.