Posts by nijam

De-duplicating the desktops: Let's come together, right now

Re: Always looking the wrong way at the wrong thing.

> I've spent this century avoiding Outlook so ...

... maybe you're not the right person to complain about the alternatives being no use to (fill in your choice of user category here).

Microsoft teases agents that become ‘independent users within the workforce’

> “If they can join meeting and send emails/messages to people – what happens if they go rogue?

> It could be sending sensitive data to the wrong people, providing incorrect information,

> or it could be sending strange or offensive messages…how is that to be prevented,

> monitored, and acted upon?”

Same as you do with the PHBs, and for the same reason.

Microsoft's lack of quality control is out of control

> It's difficult to pinpoint precisely where it went wrong for Microsoft when it comes to quality.

As someone who was working with other classes of computer when MS-DOS "came out", my experience since suggests the answer is "Whan Microsoft were founded."

Win10 still clings to over 40% of devices weeks after Microsoft pulls support

> LibreOffice occasionally screws up some of the formatting.

So does MS Office, of course.

Also, most formatting "problems" come about because the user's PC doesn't have the correct fonts installed.

From Intel to the infinite, Pat Gelsinger wants Christian AI to change the world

Re: Bring out the comfy chair!

No need to insult van Vogt.

Ex-CISA head thinks AI might fix code so fast we won't need security teams

Re: IF A IS TRUE, THEN A IS TRUE

> ... AI isn't going to fix crap software ...

It will fix the flaws in the various strains of malware long before it delivers any benifit in cybersecuirty, of course.

Re: This...

The 1951 novel "the Marching Morons" by Cyril Kornbluth describes all this perfectly, except fot the petty - albeit malicious - vindictivess of the man currently demolishing the US government. And, as an aside, the White House, though that's just collateral damage.

Grounded jet engines take off again as datacenter generators

Re: Old hat!

> ... full unctionality of the site ...

Because the tour was run by the PR team?

Windows 11 update knocks out USB mice, keyboards in recovery mode

Re: The question is...

.. they should at least still be testing ...

I regularly used to remind my staff that people working in IT should never use the word "should".

Vulnerability scores, huh, what are they good for? Almost nothing

> ... disputed by maintainers of the supposedly vulnerable software projects...

Well, they would say that, wouldn't they?

Librephone battles the proprietary binary blob

Re: They have absolutely ZERO chance

> ...legitimate stacks getting replaced by malware with spyware stacks...

A big problem with binary blobs that no-one can check whether "legitimate stacks" already contain "malware with spyware stacks"?

Bose kills SoundTouch: Smart speakers go dumb in Feb

Re: BOSE

> You can get better sound equipment for less money.

Yes, yes, yes. Since forever, as it's Bose.

It's so predictable, why do people fall for this nonsense?

Benioff retreats from idea of sending troops in to clean up San Francisco

My idea: send in the National Guard to clean up Salesforce.

Microsoft 'illegally' tracked students via 365 Education, says data watchdog

Hammer them both, I say. Penalise MS for doing it, and the schools for choosing inappropriate software and service provider(s).

Definitely the way forward.

End of Windows 10 support is the perfect time for the Windows 11 installer to fail

> ... W10 will no longer be considered secure at that point.

Whereas W11 is not secure at *this* point.

Hundreds of millions of business PCs are still on Windows 10 as D-Day nears

Re: Most of us knew

> "That MS claim to be the last was not true."

I think you mean "That MS claims are usually not true."

> Once you get used to that Windows 12 will be along as a subscription only service.

Tried and tested technique of blackmailers and their ilk.

In any case, "service"? For many years (how many depending who you are, I suppose), Windows has not been a service but an obstruction.

> ...you considering this problem a really big one.

No, the problem is actually a tiny, tiny one: a simple (and clearly unwarranted) decision by a convicted monopolist. It is the consequences of that problem which are "really big". The consequences of the cost to the user in financial terms, in stress, in inconvenience and wasted time, etc.; the consequences of the cost to the wider world in e-waste, in additional resource consumption, etc.

Lowercase leaving you cold? Introducing Retrocide

Shame it still has ascenders.

Microsoft CTO says he wants to swap most AMD and Nvidia GPUs for homemade chips

Re: In a race to somewhere

> Where does the bombastic ignorance originate?

Plenty of examples amongst the world's "leaders".

Re: Coming soon . . .

> a GPU that crashes twice a day and requires the whole server to be restarted.

Surely you mean "a GPU that crashes twice a day and requires the whole internet to be restarted." Don't downplay Microsoft's ambitions.

Only way to move Space Shuttle Discovery is to chop it into pieces, White House told

Re: All that money

> ...actually it ENDED great ...

... a couple of years ago.

Windows 11 25H2 is mostly 24H2 with bits bolted on or ripped out

Re: wmic.exe gone is news to me...

> if you want to standardise on any date format...

Just use ISO 8601, FFS.

Digital ID, same place, different time: In this timeline, the result might surprise us

No surprise aboiut the opposition to this stupid idea... simultaneously intrusive and ineffective.

Basically it's evidence of a corrupt government.

EU OS drafts a locked-down Linux blueprint for Eurocrats

Re: VT100

> ...VT100 terminal and a mainframe?

Mainframes have remained immutable since the 1980s. Everything in upper-case, etc.

Re: RedHat is part of IBM

> As such a natural choice as no one got fired for choosing IBM

... except as their employer.

Re: Perfect for running the Laundy

> There are many useful tools that do not have an equivalent on Linux

Far fewer that most commercial vendor would have you believe.

EU starting registration of fingerprints and faces for short-stay foreigners

Re: Holidays Cancelled

> Biometrics will not stop illegals it just punishes and inconveniences good people.

Strangely the same is true of every law, ever.

Google stuffs Chrome full of AI features whether you like it or not

> Why browse the web yourself when an AI sidekick can spoon-feed it to you?

You surely mean

"Why browse the web yourself when an AI sidekick can spoon-feed a half-baked summary of other AI fantasies to you?"

Atlassian drops $1B on company that helps measure dev productivity

Re: True, But...

> Now someone needs to write a paper on why management hallucinates.

Because it's the only "skill" they have.

Trump backpedals as Hyundai factory ICE raid enrages South Korea

Re: Work visas, really? Where are they?

> Or somewhere fairly close.

His head?

Re: And they still for the most part support him

> Would they even notice that it was dead?

No, they did not. Brain-dead, anyway.

Fork that: Three alternative kernels show devs don't need Linux

> We're trying to get _away_ from the 1960s designs, not _encourage_ them!

And there is the nub of the problem, hidden in thet statement. It's the 1960s parts that are good; what's been added since, less so.

"Progress may have been alright once, but it went on too long." -- Oscar Wilde, I believe.

Sky-high budget gap: FAA launches air traffic overhaul, lacks cash to finish it

> ... FAA wants a single private-sector integrator ...

a campaign contributor with no experience of this type of work, surely?

UK government trial of M365 Copilot finds no clear productivity boost

> ... M365 Copilot excels at the mundane while stumbling over the complex ...

A perfect match for government requirements.

Two wrongs don’t make a copyright

Re: Such as?

> If they are not noticed, they will not work.

True. Adverts are all shit, and when I do notice them, the products advertised are also shit.

And the program they interrupt has been enshitified by the interruption.

Also, isn't that interruption breach of the program-makers copyright?

Re: Modification without distribution

> The simple option for the adblocker would be to not distribute any material from Axel Springer

There seem to be three surplus words at the end of your sentence. Am I correcting an error or am I breaching your copyright?

Re: Modification without distribution

> They also have their hand in academic publishing - one of the biggest rackets there is.

Indeed, can you guess which large publisher led the offensive to make it a racket?

The UK Online Safety Act is about censorship, not safety

Re: "adult content providers"

> If parents are too lazy to use them, that is not an excuse for blanket censorship.

Oh, I think you'll find it is. Governments always have excuses for censorship.

Re: "adult content providers"

You're confusing "intended goal" with "stated goal".

The stated goal is "anything you can justify by saying 'think about the children' ". The intended goal will pretty much be "disagreeing with what some entitled government ignoramus believes should be prohibited" - a list which will only grow over time.

Browser wars are back, predicts Palo Alto, thanks to AI

Ahh, I see. You believe the commerncial versions are safer!

> The one for ChatGPT would be facts only...

No, the one for ChatGPT would be (ill-informed) opinions only, scraped off the arse-end of the internet.

Sorry, did I say that out loud? I meant to say "social media".

Should UK.gov save money by looking for open source alternatives to Microsoft? You decide

Re: Mix because...

> The specialist software I use requires ...

Almost certainly false.

> We extensively use Access databases/Excel macros that are untranslatable.

You mean "that are broken"

> ... MSO becoming unreadable

It's invariably MSO that is the problem.

No more 'Sanity Checks.' Inclusive language guide bans problematic tech terms

Re: CONTEXT

> People who ignore that context risk missing the true meaning of what was said or written; they also risk feeling hurt or offended.

There's rarely a likelihood of "risk". Unfortunately a more apposite word for the latter part of that sentence would be "intend".

...they're rarely referring to popping it on the wall for all to admire.

They mean it's well-endowed, although not all will admire it.

UK expands police facial recognition rollout with 10 new vans heading to a town near you

Re: United Serfdom

> "Persons of interest are victims witnesses and suspects."

Persons of interest are ... persons.

Perplexity vexed by Cloudflare's claims its bots are bad

... distinguishing between legitimate AI assistants and actual threats.

Ah, I see. They think there's a difference.

Microsoft promises to eventually make WinUI 'truly open source'

Re: The damage the evangelists HAVE CAUSED

... they have to try new things and see what sticks

We've seen what sticks to the wall, I mean UI, ...

Re: No Worries

George 3