Posts by sorry, what? 379 publicly visible posts • joined 27 Apr 2011
I personally saw this as one of the biggest benefits of OSGi - different apps/modules/libraries could rely on the code-level API and implementation of a third-party module/library without fear that some other co-hosted app/module/library needed a different version of that same module/library that would break some functionality. As long as you correctly encapsulated that dependency this worked a treat.
New in Windows 10, regardless of flavour, is a crippled and brain dead Family Safety offering.
It used to be that you could manage internet access (effectively implementing a firewall on a per child basis), but now you can only do that with Edge and (perhaps, I can't remember) IE. The reason? Something about it being too hard to keep up with third party changes in the browsers.
I guess M$ can say that Windows 10 S is safer for kids, but honestly, I think they could have easily provided the "firewall" functionality at a lower level, e.g. just above the NIC/wifi driver level. Then it would work for all.
I suspect it is more about all that data slurping opportunity loss. "Of course we don't knowingly capture data from children" they say. Pull the other one.
For use in his next IoT article - it's a self-describing one for the use of IoT:
I Do Internet Of Things
I really don't want to own or use anything on the internet that is less secure than a modern smartphone or PC - these are bad enough but at least tend to require user intervention to open them up to pwnership.
@Mr. Knapman, Ahem! I'm not precious. I'll stand corrected. Ironic name. Periodically confusing people.
Still, it would be nice to be able to use silicon, or something else that is really abundant, for this job. Even better if the extraction and purification were clean and cheap.
I was a bit surprised to see, at 7.2 light minutes out from the Sun a comment about being half way home. My understanding is that Earth is about 8 light minutes out from the Sun, so not sure quite which laws of Physics are being followed by "Josh" here.
That's a crappy repository for code dependencies and a crappier associated build system. No surprise they sent it out to Mars, but I don't get why they then saved it from oblivion!
(We used Ivy instead - so much better but requires water, oxygen and sunlight to grow so not so good for Mars visits)
I have TV, phone and broadband with Virgin and totally agree with EddieD about it being great unless and until something goes wrong. That said, they include the cost of repairs/replacements in the price you pay so that's a good thing.
What I find very strange is that Virgin isn't making sure that all the new developments around my area get cabled up at the time of construction (I got this from a Virgin engineer when they came to install a replacement box). This would surely be the cheaper option compared to retrospective installation, and also means no horrid patching on the roads and pavements ready to generate potholes the first time we have icy weather.
If the surgeon is allowed to see this material directly. I'm OK with the idea of an informed and independent arbiter, one that can have both sides of the story and is able to determine whether or not the comments amount to libel.
Giving the details to the surgeon feels too open to abuse the other way.
From my perspective both Oracle and Wilson are greedy. I have seen so many times the sales person get all the reward (clearly not at Oracle), despite being strongly supported by a technical team who are simply salaried and get no recognition for their contribution to closing the deal.
Yes, I get that sales people are generally paid by commission; the issue is that the sale typically isn't all because of them.
I like that they are using local processing to collect information from the driver (and other vehicle occupants?) unlike lots of other solutions that feed the raw stuff to a server (or two) for processing.
Of course, I'm guessing the software will then squirt all the extracted information straight to our digital overlords. Which, for me, would be the deal breaker.
@AC (why AC?), basically I use it to network - hopping across organizations who know people who know me. It's not about being recruited through LinkedIn, though it happens I was contacted directly by my now boss by him finding me on LinkedIn. Sneer at it if you like, but I have historically found it a useful tool. I simply don't want M$ taking my data and doing something I didn't sign up to with it.
I whole-heartedly agree that it is more important to limit the types of software. Limiting time is also important.
I've got kids and they would stay glued to their digital devices to the detriment of their health if they could. And by that I mean "couch potato syndrome".
I agree again that the process of discovery (and indeed the learning through failure) is, bizarrely, really fun.
For me, rather than rely on shareware games on the whole, and certainly not using magazine cover disks (I couldn't afford the mags they came with), I spent my time leaning how to write games and utilities for myself using BBC Basic and 6502 assembler.
To me code is code - statements that control logic and implement algorithms/behaviour. HTML and CSS is not code, it's content and layout. Minecraft is not code, it's a game (though the redstone mechanisms that can be created within it are kind of cool virtual engineering).
I think that today's programming learning environments are too far removed from the fundamental principles of how computers work. Learning on a machine with a rather basic OS and diving down to the processor and hardware level really gives you a better insight into these workings and therefore removes lots of the mystery ("I don't understand how UI programming works with all these callbacks" a colleague once said, because he couldn't "see" the layers below).
Also, having limited resources makes you, as a programmer, more aware of the need to structure code well and consider things like memory footprint and performance.
Let's bring back small and limited machines to teach our kids on, not PCs. (Yeah, things like the Raspberry Pi are sort of in that direction, but I thought it worth making the point.)
I, for one, would happily forego the "benefit" of so-called Smart Metering and actually pay that extra 7p a day just for the peace of mind that some passing twonk can't hack my energy supply at my meter.
Being a weak point well away from the supply generation side of things, I'm convinced the energy providers won't be all that fussed about trying to sort out such hacks (as long as they still get some money from the poor consumer).
Especially after the gov forces them to spend so much of our hard-earned cash, sorry "their well deserved profits", on the metering programme.
Why would you ever want to support a language that requires the application to perform its own memory management? I second bazza's point about having a Java plugin done properly instead. Of course, there is the small issue of Oracle's aggressive approach to the way Java is adopted and evolved...
Qantas are not the only airline already warning people not to try to retrieve their own device - BA are saying this too.
I wonder if the cabin crews have had special ninja training in order to help them move stealthily in the small spaces below the seats in order to find these AWOL items?!
Statically linked applications?
Look, I stepped away from Linux for a week or two back in 2012 and accidentally failed to get back to it (no, honestly, not deliberate but due to a change of employer), so I accept I could be seriously out of touch, but why does the "snap" concept seem like the devs simply chose to statically link with the versions of the libraries they were using to build with?
@energystar, from my perspective I am on LinkedIn for my benefit - it's all about career progression and professional networking. Yes, LinkedIn monetize my details (which are not open to everyone, just those organizations, such as recruiters, willing to pay for the access - my public profile is relatively limited in its scope) but in the end I benefit too. I got my current job through being contacted on LinkedIn.
Now tell me how I benefit from Microsoft's data slurping...
Unfortunately Windows 10 is so crap, the PC I bought my son that had it pre-installed no longer functions correctly (after some automated update or other). This means the task bar doesn't work. Similarly the task manager doesn't work. Nor the Start menu. And it is impossible to use any "apps". Which basically means I can't tell Microsoft how crap it is because I can't even install the app let alone use it.
It strikes me that most of these operators are a bit rubbish. My personal mobe is on EE (via an MVNO) and the coverage in and around my home is atrocious despite living in a fair sized town within 35 miles of London. Vodafone's coverage is better here, but only a little.
However, try using your mobe for data access whilst on a train into London and be amazed at how frequently connectivity is totally lost. Rubbish.
Like most people I don't particularly want yet more info collected and shared. As such I want to switch from AVG to some alternative that doesn't (yet) steal such data.
It would be good to hear thoughts on which free alternatives offer the same or better service compared with AVG Free. I'm aware of Avast!, Avira, Panda and others and know there are comparions out there (like http://uk.pcmag.com/security-reviews/142/guide/the-best-free-antivirus-for-2015) but it is always good to get El Reg user feedback.
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