Posts by Mark 124 24 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Apr 2012
Huh?! I don't see TSMC selling chips. I do see Apple being "rather" profitable by designing chips for TSMC to fab.
I think Samsung use Qualcomm chips, forming a "sandwich", if you will, where quite likely the fabless "filing" of Qualcomm makes more of profit than the Samsung "bread".
CardDAV has been in since version 109 or something. I only just upgraded my server to something with good enough CardDAV and TB looks to have connected perfectly. (I still haven't got around to moving all my contacts in from the "Device" account on my Android phone though.)
Sorry to hear your plight.
If "you" means the 100-200k swing voters in marginal seats that actually decide elections in the UK's bonkers First Past The Post electoral system (see also USA) then yes, have at them.
But the UK population as a whole hasn't voted more than 50% for any party since pre-WWII, and is majority non-Toey. Any system of Proportional Representation would have forced sensible compromise government for as far back as you wish to look - 2019 where Europe-friendly parties got 56% of the vote, 2005 where Labour dropped to 35% after Iraq (and imagine how low if there was a viable alternative on the left). Etc etc
The number of hours doesn't change (obvs), but what you're doing when does. If you're sleeping through sunrise, starting work when the clock says (with the sun higher in the sky), and fasting by skipping breakfast and lunch, it feels like getting to eat dinner an hour earlier.
I'm *guessing* a lot of people fast by not eating at all until sunset. Thus having an hour less daylight at the end of the day would make a difference.
Still a stupid idea to change it in a hurry for a one-off. I'm not well versed at all in Islamic calendar calculations but I'm pretty sure the date Ramadan starts is known at least six months in advance.
PS I've heard that in some places it doesn't officially end until the new moon is visible in the sky, so a long cloudy stretch can mean a extra month of fasting...put that in your tzdata!
"Fiat" generally means "the government has said so", while in most cryptos* there are various mathematical rules meant to stop anyone just saying so. They call it bitcoin "mining" precisely because you can't just say "look, I've got a new bitcoin" in the same way you actually have to dig for and refine gold. Last week on the other hand the Bank of England simply said "look, I've got £65 billion to help out pension funds."
That most people believe the Bank of England and a lot of people believe the pope, and not so many people believe in Scientology or will accept bitcoin for groceries is, however, all down to human belief not inherent reality. "Fiat" is referring to the process for creating of new units of currency, not its utility for buying and selling stuff.
Anything based on belief can be workable and appear "real" for a long time, but that doesn't make it actually real. Compare with things based on real physics, like that 100 grams of gold dropped on a bare human foot from 1.5 metres will hurt said foot, no matter who's head might be stamped on the back.
* "Most cryptos" is important because to that extent I agree you that crypto coins are invented like fiat: nothing stops anyone saying "hey, I've invented XYZcoin and I'm a trillionaire." That's not likely to be a popular or useful coin though, but again that's down to human belief.
In the context of a crypto article I think saying "fiat" is entirely justified. Anyone who's into crypto has thought a bit about what "money" really is, and that tenner in your pocket (or more likely these days the circuit in your NFC chip) is ultimately just an idea that a lot of people believe in.
Crypto people just believe in some different ideas. Maybe a bit like notionally Christian nations still spend a lot because of santa and get excited about eggs at Easter time.
If you want money that's not an idea, you need gold, as J.P. Morgan famously said: https://www.milesfranklin.com/gold-is-money-everything-else-is-credit-jp-morgan/
There are entire schools of economics (OK, not the most cult-free space!) where the distinction between "fiat" and "real" money is a fundamental principle, the Austrian School one being most prominent.
Signal used to do that, but the number of possible phone numbers is low enough compared to compute power today that they gave up and just store the actual numbers on their servers.
Where Signal differ massively from WhatsApp, as I understand, is that they encrypt everything in your messages. WhatsApp servers can see, or at least store permanently, the content of pictures etc - everything that's not text.
And they *may* have a user graph, but as a charitable entity they aren't going to be able to sell it
Signal *used* to send just a hash of your phone number (plus those of your contacts), which I liked the idea of. However they realised the number of possible phone numbers is too small for hashing to provide much if any defence these days, so now they do in fact upload phone numbers.
I still use Signal though, because it's a non-profit and because I take Ed Snowden's word that it's the most private/secure. I uninstalled WhatsApp the day Facebook bought them - or at least as soon as the suspiciously-timed 24hr outage after it was announced was over.
I once flew from NZ to London while the in flight "entertainment" consisted of watching WinCE boot up and crash, over and over and over. They said they'd fix it during the refuelling stop in L.A., but no. I've spent better days in flying tin cans...
Even the reading light was controlled from the IFE so to read I had to move to a seat where the light was switched on during the brief period when it was working enough for the light button would do anything.
How would LEO beat microwave links at ground level? The signal via satellite has to go all the way up and down, so unless a) the microwave relay hops slow it down so much that a lower number of satellite relay hops is worth it or b) the thinner/no atmosphere means is going closer to c, I don't buy it.
LEO definitely wins against fibre though.
Python the language is named after these Pythons, not the snakes. The documentation has "spam" all through it, e.g. https://docs.python.org/2/library/csv.html#module-contents. That's relevant enough for me!
If I've killed your buzz-killing buzz with an injection of facts.... tough!
From the 1password FAQs:
"What happens if my subscription lapses?"
Don't worry, you will never be locked out of your account or your data. If your subscription ends, your account will be frozen but you will still be able to access, view and export all your data.
...So presumably all you need is a working phone with mobile internet, or an internet cafe, or a friend's PC?
Well done Peter Moore on surviving an horrific situation and living a balanced life afterwards. "Living well is the best revenge."
I'm a little disappointed and surprised that it's only the 15th and 16th comments (as I write this presumably-17th) are basic congratulations from Register readers, given that we are probably the closest website-peer group of his. Only a little, since this is The Register, and what would it be without cynical comments about IR35, the cynicism of the US and UK governments, etc etc? But FFS he was chained up for a whole year and went through mock executions!! I've been in London for 10 years and would quite happily be forced to stay inside the M25 for the rest of my life rather than be put through a mock execution. How many of us can honestly say we would come through anything like that without being a gibbering wreck for the rest of our lives?
So, enjoy the holidays, Peter!
"No history of South African Rugby would be complete without mention of apartheid and although some would suggest that there should be a seperation between sport and politics they are inextricably linked."
http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/south_africa.html (search for Apartheid, there isn't a contents table - don't blame me I didn't write the page).
Sport and politics are linked. Grow up and deal with it. That repressive regimes like Bahrain's (and China's) can _still_ gain legitimacy, and profit, from deluded people who are too focussed on winning to see that life is more important is disgusting. In 20 years will Sebastian Vettel be happier with one more race win than making a stand for freedom and equality?
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