Posts by schermer

DOGE helps Veterans Affairs end IT contract run by service-disabled entrepreneurs

Re: Valued Veterans... First Rule of Bureaucracy .. look squirrel..

Very wisely chosen: Anonymous Coward.

Why is Big Tech hellbent on making AI opt-out?

So far no working AI on my Apple MacMini M2, although it is at the latest OS variant. For my language area, no AI has yet been developed by Apple. Not that I have any need for software and features like AI: I have my own mind and knowledge (plus 75 years of life experience). But as soon as Apple starts pushing it, MacOS will disappear from my computer and be replaced by Linux (probably Asahi).

My PCs have been Windows-free for quite some time, most recently the gaming PC with Windows11: the pushing of Copilot convinced me it was high time.

China has utterly pwned 'thousands and thousands' of devices at US telcos

Re: Backdoors get prised open

Sometimes it is not necessary to use pleonasms ...

To patch this server, we need to get someone drunk

Re: 'Exit interview'

In my entire life, I have undergone exit interviews twice. Mind you this was in Europe (EU).

At the first one I was able to honestly state why I was leaving after 9 years of working (as a neurologist in a psychiatric hospital). The employer had not fully complied with the agreements made regarding scientific research to be done there by me. Of course I clearly stated the reason for leaving. Nonetheless, even after years (I live close to the institute in question), relations remained good and (more importantly) they took to heart my advice to stop pretending that serious research was possible with them.

The 2nd was after the takeover of the general hospital, where I worked for years, by a private healthcare entrepreneur. Fortunately for me, I was able to retire early and therefore it was no problem for me to tell that same healthcare entrepreneur, that his policies would send the entire hospital into bankruptcy. He looked at me like I wasn't right in the head, but suffice it to say that this hospital does indeed no longer exist (the government ordered it closed due to mismanagement and debt).

Big Tech's eventual response to my LLM-crasher bug report was dire

Re: "ChatGPT is bullshit"

Thanks for the link. Interesting read :)

Microsoft confirms Russian spies stole source code, accessed internal systems

Pennywise, ...

Worst thing is: my government did put almost all of their files on "Azure".

Native Americans urge Apache Software Foundation to ditch name

Re: Bit ridiculous

There are a few languages that got that correct.

The colour of "whites" is described with a word meaning colourless / translucent. Of course in the current stream of idiocy that must be replaced by the word meaning "white" as a colour (something between RAL 9002 and RAL 9003).

Doctors call for greater scrutiny of bidders for platform that pools UK's health info

Re: Software with western components

Don't you really have something like: https://english.bigregister.nl

The only gripe I have with this regulation is their age-related discrimination: it is difficult to be a medical professional once one reach the age of 70 years.

As Russia wages disinfo war, Ukraine's cyber chief calls for global anti-fake news fight

mainstream??

Really it is nice to see the fake news agents and the conspiracy lot are also following the Register, At last this website has become important, even in the eyes of those nitwits. :) :)

The crime against humanity that is the modern OS desktop, and how to kill it

Re: UXtards to blame

Upvoted you for this :)

Much to my dismay I am addressed in English in half of the city center shops in the capital of my country. Somehow alot of people think it is "cool" to use a foreign language :(

Re: Software with western components

Yep, that is true. Otherwise a fine car though. You can also use voice commands to turn lights on and open glovebox. Just say: "fog light on" or "open glovebox" and presto!:)

Doctor gave patients the wrong test results due to 'printer problems'

Using the word "quack" is quite disrespectful. Furthermore, having been involved in this profession for over 30 years, I can assure you that being a smart and intelligent MD is not necessarily the same thing as being a smart ass digital handy professional …

The provided solution was perfect:

In a time before calculators, going the extra mile at work sometimes didn't add up

Re: Software with western components

Dinar was also a coin in the former Yugoslavian republic and is still used in Serbia and North Macedonia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinar ): hardly Middle Eastern countries ;)

'Virtually no difference' between AI and humans in diagnosing prediabetes

Re: Software with western components

Maybe it is even better to cut out the human lifeforms completely: they are inefficient and mostly incompetent anyways ...

Russia bans foreign software purchases for critical infrastructure

Re: Software with western components

They could always use their Indian connections ...

EU cuts off key Russian banks from SWIFT system

Re: A spelling question.

It is a bit OT, BUT: the name is indeed "The Netherlands" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Netherlands )

Now that China has all but banned cryptocurrencies, GPU prices are falling like Bitcoin

Re: Oh, Irony...

Just to demask this popular myth: no, he did not. The plans to this were already made by the Weimar Governement and some building had started before the take-over by the NSDAP ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobahn ). Of course the Führer claimed to be the genius who had this brilliant idea and dr.Goebbels made sure the whole world believed it.

The common factor in all your failed job applications: Your CV

Years ago, one of my colleagues was able to explain a one-year hiatus in his career by pointing to a brief stint as a professional golfer. I wonder, would that still work?

How Apple's M1 uses high-bandwidth memory to run like the clappers

And before that the MacPPC's (tower G5). I had one of those. ATM a MacPro 2009 fully upgraded (bought it new in 2009). Since I am pensioned it is just overkill. So I bought this new MacMini M1 (fully specced): it will be delivered next week and will be more than enough for my current needs.

Linus Torvalds banishes masters, slaves and blacklists from the Linux kernel, starting now

Re: Lovely.

Do not worry! For me (a non-native not primary English speaker) it is just as confusing.

Who had thougt that the "battle" of the pigment-rich versus the pigment-poor, would lead to this kind of obscurities?

Euro police forces infiltrated encrypted phone biz – and now 'criminal' EncroChat users are being rounded up

Dutch viewpoint

From a dutch news channel ( https://www.nu.nl/binnenland/6061836/justitie-kon-live-meekijken-met-communicatie-criminelen-na-kraken-encrochat.html ): <translated>"The Dutch justice system has also been able to read more than twenty million messages live before they were encrypted by the users and EncroChat. The company is one of the largest providers of encrypted digital communication internationally.

According to the judiciary, there are ten thousand users in the Netherlands whose reports concerned "unprecedentedly large numbers of serious crimes". As a result, the police say they have prevented liquidations, kidnapping plans have been thwarted, as have intended torture of individuals.

It is painful to note that officials seem to have been bribed at important - logistics - locations."

At least "our" Mocro-mafia can be diminished for a while. And moreover some of the corrupt officials can be dealt with.

Why should the UK pensions watchdog be able to spy on your internet activities? Same reason as the Environment Agency and many more

Re: Sunset clauses and jury oversight are needed.

Given the fact that the STASI was dismantled some years ago, it would be appropiate to find a more fitting Anglo-American acronyme.

Europe publishes draft rules for coronavirus contact-tracing app development, on a relaxed schedule

Sorry?? The housing in the inner city is in Europe(at least in the part where I live) by far the priciest ... Must be an American thing?

Allowlist, not whitelist. Blocklist, not blacklist. Goodbye, wtf. Microsoft scans Chromium code, lops off offensive words

Re: A different perspective...

Well, it won't be a problem for the people that have any of the current european languages as their native tongue. In all these the word used to describe black has also a negative connotation. It has nothing to do with skin color, however. Besides, skin can be brown, or very deep-brown, almost black; but to be pure black it must have been charred (and that is not compatible with a healthy constitution).

Pints under attack as Lord Howe demands metric-only UK

Re: Dutch treats

Not completely right. "Duim" and "voet" are not used anymore (they have just historical value just like the "el"). "Ons" means 100 gram nowadays, and "pond" 500 gram. The terms are used unofficially as conversation short-cut. The "pint" is not a volume measurement: it is a popular way to ask for a beer. The use of "dozijn" (=12 pieces) and "gros" (144 pieces) is also unofficial, just used in conversation.

Being dutch all my life (60+ years) I think I have some right to make these comments.