Posts by Mark 78

Windows 11 24H2 might call time on that old NAS under the stairs

Re: Stop sigh.

"Given the UK's last decade I would think inverse paraphrasing Douglas Adams and having "PANIC" (in large scary letters) would be more appropriate."

I won't be able to read it due to my Peril Sensitive Sunglasses.

McDonald's ordering system suffers McFlurry of tech troubles

Re: Click ☰ menu

Or "I'm Loving IT" ?

Cryptocurrency laundryman gets hung out to dry

I guess he didn't realise they also had cameras at the motorway tolls, so his registration number for his car would have been logged along with the owner details?

Airbnb warns hosts who use indoor security cameras they may face eviction

Other side of this.

As someone who is involved with a B&B I'm glad I'm not on AirBnB, as most small B&B's and guesthouses rely on a camera in the reception or breakfast room to monitor guests coming down for breakfast, from the kitchen, and this will make it more difficult and end up with people saying "I sat there for 15 minutes before anyone came to serve me".

Techie climbed a mountain only be told not to touch the kit on top

Remote people might be right

Isn't there a chance that the remote people looked at the "gibberish on the screen", and understood that the error message meant that if rebooted the router had a 90% chance of not coming back up again, and as everything was currently working a reboot would likely leave 100's of people unable to work until it was replaced, so it was best not to do anything until a hot swap was available.

Moscow makes a mess on the Moon as Luna 25 probe misses orbit, lands with a thud

Failure?

Surely it can't be classed as a failure. That would involve missing the moon entirely. This was just a very very very solid landing.

"A good landing's any landing you can walk away from; a great landing is one where they can reuse the plane." - Cabin Pressure

Just follow the instructions … no wait, not that instruction to lock everyone out of everything

"Hopefully the documentation wasn't in The Sun..."

He might have made a right tit out of himself instead.

Braking news: Cops slammed for spamming Waze to slow drivers down

Re: I know the USA has issues, but....

> "child abductors a way to avoid a dragnet"

> Are there really that many that its a genuine concern!

I assume they include parents who have taken a child from an ex without permission, which is a lot more common than most people think, even if most the time they bring them back later that day and it's been a mix up / argument over whether they were allowed to take them for the afternoon etc.

Remember the bloke who was told by Zen Internet to contact his MP about crap service? Yeah, it's still not fixed

Re: Write your MP

Seeing as so many are saying how crap their MP is, it's time for someone to say something nice..... I consider myself lucky to have a great MP, always available to help and tries holding the Government to account. Maybe a few more areas should try voting Green and she might not have to work by herself in Parliament.

What’s that in CES heaven, is it a star? Or is it that damned elusive flying car?

Re: Barkeep, pour me a..... wow that was exactly what I wanted!

I suppose it could currently be done by using a retina scan to identify you and then checking a database of the drinks you have previously ordered. Would that pass as "looking into your eyes and calculating the drink you want" ?

Decades-old UK government papers show that they tried to roll out a 'Cab-E-Net' system in the '90s. It was crap

Joined up thinking

I think the line "1/2 a foot by 12cm" describes exactly the problem.

Cruise, Kidman and an unfortunate misunderstanding at the local chemist

Pics or it never happened?

Paris icon obviously.......

IBM ordered to pay £22k to whistleblower and told by judges: Teach your managers what discrimination means

Re: targeted by four managers within IBM

If that was the case wouldn't IBM have sorted this out before it went to a tribunal and have disciplined the managers rather than going to the tribunal and backing them up?

East Sussex County Council dodges SAP S/4HANA upgrade bullet, sets aside £25m for a 10-year SaaS ERP deal

Re: Why not get together ?

East Sussex have already got together with Surrey and Brighton & Hove Councils to run their IT systems.

We've reached the endgame: Bezos 'in talks' to turn shuttered department stores into Amazon warehouses

Re: Coming soon

I think there have been plenty of stories on El Reg documenting this, although I do seem to remember Computer Weekly (or similar) doing articles. This Register one was from 2008, I doubt things have changed much:

https://www.theregister.com/2008/07/18/hp_packaging/

HTC breaks with tradition to push out 2 phones someone might actually want to buy

Re: I'll take the "small" one

I agree. A phone called a 6.5" phone is no bigger that something that was called 5.2" only a couple of years ago, not only from shrinking the non-screen bits but also with the change of shape to 20:9. I've just replaced a 5.5" phone with a 6.7" phone and it is a very similar width (if not narrower) and only a bit longer, which makes it easier to actually hold so it doesn't feel any bigger.

As anti-brutality protests fill streets of American cities, netizens cram police app with K-Pop, airwaves with NWA

Re: "Yes, Anon activists are back."

"I'm not afraid of the police. At all. The vast majority of cops are fine. There are only a few bad apples, Just like in any other line of work."

There are a few more than a few bad apples - there are all the ones who stand by and allow things to happen without saying anything on top of the obvious ones who assist in covering it up.

I guess that if you are not afraid of the police, it is because you are white, so the risk to you of being killed while doing nothing wrong is significantly lower.

Far-right leader walks free from court after conviction for refusing to hand his phone passcode over to police

Re: And the moral of this story is ...

"Sure, there are bad apples in any organisation"

Yes, every organisation has bad apples in it, but you have to think about how an organisation deals with it. In a good organisation the bad apples are found and removed by the 'good apples' reporting them. The police as an organisation have a history of covering up the bad apples, and the police officers have a history of keeping quiet about the bad apples and ignoring them rather than doing anything about them, which makes them just as bad.

Podcast Addict banned from Google Play Store because heaven forbid app somehow references COVID-19

Podcast Addict is back

Looks like it's back in the store now.

It's official: In May, Microsoft will close the door, lock the vault, brick over the entrance of dreaded Windows 10 1809

The LTSC version is the one for Thin Clients which is supports for years still. The Enterprise version of 1809 (which most corporate users would be using) is still valid until May 2021. It's mainly home users who are affected by this announcement.

Windows 10 1809 looks unlikely to overtake prior build before 19H1 lands

Re: Apps...

You can avoid Candy Crush etc but still allow useful apps by setting up the Store for Business assuming you have an Enterprise Agreement.

First it was hashtags – now Amber Rudd gives us Brits knowledge on national ID cards

Re: Amber Rudd

Off the end of Hastings Pier would be more appropriate, and there wouldn't be a shortage of locals willing to help out.

All the king's horses and all the king's men could probably put Huawei's P20 Pro together again

Re: but who is going to spend £800 on a Huawei phone?

I doubt anyone is actually spending £800 on the phone. Yesterday EE were offering it as a PAYG for £499 plus a £10 topup. Today O2 have it as a 2 year, £20/month contract with £99 up front (therefore a total of £580 over 2 years).

Shock poll finds £999 X too expensive for happy iPhone owners

Re: It's not just Apple

"I wonder how a smoker on a 5ish a day habit feels about burning a £1000 a year for nothing compared to someone buying an X, using it for a year and getting £500 selling it used."

More relaxed?

How is 55 Cancri e like a Sisters of Mercy gig? Astroboffins: It has atmosphere

Re: I have been to a Sisters of Mercy gig...

They've gone even further downhill now. I saw them this summer, luckily Therapy? saved it from being the worst gig I've been to. I left half way through the SoM set.

Munich council: To hell with Linux, we're going full Windows in 2020

Which O/S is better doesn't matter

If they are unable to run the Apps on Linux but can run them on Windows, then the only choice is whether they run Windows or a mixture of O/S's depending on user requirements. the article quotes that approximately 400 of the 800 Apps don't run on Linux, and if after 10 to 15 years they have failed to find suitable replacements or convince the manufacturers to develop a Linux version then it is not going to happen now is it?

Local Authorities always have numerous "special" applications that are not used widely, so are sometimes limited in their choices.

Guy Glitchy: Villagers torch Openreach effigy

Re: Lewes is the most fun

I love Lewes Bonfire night, although this years tableau's were more predictable than usual, it was still an amazing evening of fire and anarchy.

USB stick found in West London contained Heathrow security data

Re: Heads should roll at the library as well.

Why should heads roll at the library? The PCs are there for the public to use. The public have to have a way to save files. USB is the most convenient, so you can't disable it.

Instead most Libraries have systems in place using things like Deep Freeze to ensure that each machine is returned to it's default state after every user, which along which A/V software, tends to make Malware an extremely small risk on library PCs.

Sarahah anonymous feedback app told: 'You're riddled with web app flaws'

Re: While I'm here - Sarahah?

I believe they use the word sarahah as it is Arabic for Honesty.

Lottery-hacking sysadmin's unlucky number comes up: 25 years in the slammer

Re: When Will People Learn? Halifax Banking...52% APR / 68.4% APY

You don't even have to bank with Lloyds for them to continually hassle you. I get regular text messages from them confirming they've set up a direct debit for me, when I haven't got an account. Someone has given them the wrong phone number to use for their account and despite several phone calls they seem unable to remove it from their system as they say they "have no way of finding the user from the phone number".

Murderous Uber driver 'attacked passenger and the app biz did nothing. Then he raped me'

Adma52 wrote "Much as I dislike Uber, surely driver licensing is the responsibility of local government not an app developer?"

That is one of the big things about Uber - They refuse to work with the local government, insisting that the drivers are not taxi drivers who need licensing but are self employed people and that they look after the vetting of them.

Men charged with theft of free newspapers

Sounds like a prank news story

Something doesn't seem right with this story. Are we sure it is genuine? I can only find one other place that has run it (a US website), the names don't seem genuine, and it has general feel of a spoof story trying to see who will run it.

Although I'm prepared to be proved wrong, as I usually am whenever I think that the world can't really be that stupid.

UK Parliament hack: Really, a brute-force attack? Really?

Re: Not only missing 2FA

As someone who works in Local Government we are forced by Central Government to limit the amount of attempts before disabling an account (something we already did before there rules were brought in). But does this mean it's one rule for us, and a different one for them?

UK Home Office warns tech staff not to tweet negative Donald Trump posts

Re: Absolutely uncalled for...

<quote>It's better to have people *think* you're a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....</quote>

Homer's Brain: What does that mean? Better say something or they'll think you're stupid.

GitLab.com melts down after wrong directory deleted, backups fail

Re: Super! Great

"You're lucky to have the budget to do it. Many times, people only have ONE live system (all they can afford) which MUST remain up 24/7, so no way to do a test."

Maybe you should rethink that..... Are you lucky enough to have the budget to NOT run a restore and risk the loss of everything? The cost of a properly tested restore system should be a vital part of any project budget. Your lack of a test/restore system is basically saying to your customers that if things go wrong we are bankrupt and possibly they are as well (if they are external customers).

President Donald Trump taken on by unlikely foe: Badass park rangers

Re: So want to see this at some point

And Leslie Knope is Murdoch?

Lessons from the Mini: Before revamping or rebooting anything, please read this

As someone who like small cars, I loved my Smart Roadster. Drove like a go-cart, did over 55mpg, but could still pull away reasonable well for a 700cc car.

Living in an area with a bad shortage of parking spaces, I now have a Toyota IQ, which seems to be like a normal Smart car, but with the option to either have a (very) small backseat or a small boot, but the ability to park in spaces no-one else would dream of fitting into.

Brit ISP TalkTalk scraps line rental charges

Virgin Media

Virgin Media have offered broadband without a line rental for ages now. But the problem is that it costs so much more than buying it all as part of a package. It's almost as if they just incorporate the line rental into the cost of the broadband, but I couldn't believe they would do that :-)

Ladies in tech, have you considered not letting us know you're female?

We can all think we are unbiased

I was looking through the comments so far, and was surprised by the amount of people who think they are not biased in a situation like this. Just because we think we are unbiased does not mean we actually are.

Why do you think drug trials have to be done as blind trials with people getting a placebo - I bet every single person in those trials believes they will give honest replies to whether the drug worked for them.

Virgin Media costs balloon by MEEELLIONS in wake of Brexit

Re: They are a media company

<quote.watta loada bullshit. Costs may have risen due to incompetance , but no tarrifs have been imposed . we are still in the EU</quote>

But the pound has fallen by approx. 10% against most currencies, so anything imported costs 10% more approx.

Sick of Southern Rail? There's a crowdfunding site for that

Re: Drivers

But main reason for shortage of staff is that Southern don't employ enough people. They only employ 80% of the required numbers, relying on the goodwill of staff to cover the rest via overtime etc. After one of the previous strikes they banned anyone who had been on strike from doing overtime (along with several other things), which meant they couldn't run the trains. This caused more bad will and even though I believe they have now lifted the ban there isn't the inclination to "help out" by covering any more.

The actual sickness levels which have been reported are only minimally different now to just before this all kicked off.

Radicalisation? UK.gov gets itself in cluster-muddle over 'terrorism'

<quote>

"We also recommend that they do not identify terrorists as Muslims.."

Oh, for crying out loud! Don't start *that* nonsense again. That's what they bloody well idenfify *themselves* as, you morons.

<unquote>

Shall we try changing a couple of words and see if you still agree?

"We also recommend that they do not identify the KKK as Christians.."

Oh, for crying out loud! Don't start *that* nonsense again. That's what they bloody well idenfify *themselves* as, you morons.

Robo-buses join the traffic in Helsinki

Re: 10 km/hr

Are you suggesting that they should start by designing a vehicle which goes at 80 km/hr rather than start with one at 10 km/hr, get that fully proven, and then start increasing the speeds that they can do?

Sat TV biz Dish: I'm not an authorized iPhone repairer ... but $20 is $20

Re: Not uncommon

I think you are confusing PC with Management Bullshit.

Three to chop off £3bn of its network in bid to woo EU over O2 merger

Re: That pledge on prices...

You can get that deal for about £12 if you go through some websites (using money back stuff)

Wikipedia jumps aboard the bogus 'freedom of panorama' bandwagon

Brilliant Campaign Strategy

<quote>

In a few weeks, when something that wasn't going to happen is formally ruled out, campaigners will congratulate themselves on "a successful campaign".

<unquote>

Also known as "The Euro Sausage" for those who remember Yes Minister

brilliant campaign strategy

<quote>

In a few weeks, when something that wasn't going to happen is formally ruled out, campaigners will congratulate themselves on "a successful campaign".

</unquote>

Also known as "The Euro Sausage" for those who remember Yes Minister.

Is this what Windows XP's death throes look like?

I expect that Windows 8 and 8.1 are split, but XP SP2 and SP3 are not split, because the MS patches are different for 8 and 8.1 but would be the same (if they still existed) for XP SP2 and SP3.

Life, the interview and everything: A chat with Douglas Adams

Re: Happy Birthday

Only being able to upvote this comment once doesn't seem enough