Posts by Joe Drunk

Firefox is dead to me – and I'm not the only one who is fed up

Same here. I choose between the lesser of two evils.

90-second Newark blackout exposes parlous state of US air traffic control

Re: ATC Career

When I was younger it was Kennedy Approach by Microprose on my Commodore 64 that helped rule out ATC as a possible career path.

Get off that old Firefox by Friday or you'll be sorry, says Moz

Re: Better yet: go Librewolf

Librewolf 110.0-1 Windows 10 here. All my addons were disabled with the message "Could not be verified for use in Librewolf and has been disabled" so it appears to affect Firefox and its derivitives.

Setting xpinstall.signatures.required to false restored all my addons.

BBS legend Ward Christensen logs off for last time at 78

BBSing is not dead yet

First, a pint to Mr. Christensen for helping create the technology that introduced me to online communication. I started with a 300 baud manual dial modem on a Commodore 64. There were lots of local ASCII BBSes in my dialing area, mostly run on XT PCs (Commodore boards didn't appear for several years later). I never got into door games, mostly message boards and files.

You can still connect to various BBSes via telnet, no long distance charges to worry about anymore. You can use Syncterm, Netrunner or my favorite IcyTerm to connect.

Eric Schmidt: Build more AI datacenters, we aren't going to 'hit climate goals anyway'

Re: Schmidt

Unfortunately I agree with him - we are never going to meet our climate change goals due to corporate greed. This planet is doomed.

Smart TVs are spying on everyone

Indeed. My HTPC with KODI gives me all the smart TV features I need minus the spying.

HP to discontinue online-only e-series LaserJet amid user gripes

Re: There's always a solution

My first inkjet was the original Deskjet. My current HP laser turned 10 in March. Static IP, gateway 0.0.0.0 so it has never had the opportunity to talk with the HP mothership.

Re: customers that own these devices will continue to be able to use them.

No doubt. There will probably be a firmware update available that will remove the online requirement but enable even more draconian DRM forcing you to use only genuine HP consumables.

PC makers hopeful that Chromebook refresh cycles about to kick in

With this generation of youths being raised on Chromebooks I wonder what the odds are that once they become adults and go shopping for a computer they will buy Chromebook vs Windows/Mac. Maybe in the future we will finally see Mickeysoft's domination declining.

Google to push ahead with Chrome's ad-blocker extension overhaul in earnest

At least Supremium browser will continue to support Manifest V2 once Google removes it. Librewolf is my primary browser with Chrome as secondary.

IBM accused of cheating its own executive assistants out of overtime pay

That's part of the brainwashing. The major reason why I have no friends at work, only acquaintances. Plenty of friends outside of work to care. It's a business relationship and that's how I treat it. Zero loyalty to my employers. Zero. I am a consultant and always will be and have the same contempt for my employers as they have for me. I'm here for the paycheck. I give 100%. They want more. I lie to them about why this or that can't happen (BOFH in real life). It's a game I've been playing for a long time with plenty of battle scars to prove it.

If you have good work ethic in corporate IT in the USA you will be chewed up and spat out.

Notepad++ dev slams Google-clogging notepad.plus 'parasite'

Re: vegans

Yes, all social media is nothing but a cesspool for scammers and those desperate for attention.

https://www.cnn.com/style/vietnam-farms-jack-latham-beggars-honey/index.html

Majority of Americans now use ad blockers

Re: Hahahahahahahaah!

Advertisers are using adblockers.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaahhahahahhahahahahahahahahah!

ROFLMAO!!

Garlic chicken without garlic? Critics think Amazon recipe book was cooked up by AI

So AI is one of two things

1. A way for corporations to cheap out on customer service.

2. An automated way for scammers to produce content.

Supermium drags Google Chrome back in time to Windows XP, Vista, and 7

Legacy OSes are for experts

This is excellent news as the other XP browser offerings were falling behind. I have been test driving this for about a month and so far is compatible with all websites that work with Chromium 121. Bonus - you can install extensions from Chrome web store without relying on third party repos since Google has blocked older Chromium versions from downloading extensions.

I run an internet-connected XP SP3 PC, a few Windows 7 PCs. Never had any problems with ransomware, malware etc. I image them regularly. I don't use any security/AV utilities because I find them to be resource hogs. My brain is my security shield. I don't use social media and block all ads so there's 2 attack vectors eliminated so that just leaves email. Gasp! There's a security issue with my Paypal/bank account! Click here to very your account! Seriously scammers? You used to be more creative with Prince Motumbo of Nigeria offering me 1 million dollars if I help move some money out of his country. I realize your email scams are just carpet bombing campaigns targeting the low hanging fruit but you're getting lazy.

I did get a virus once - on purpose. I switched from Acronis to Macrium on my XP PC and wanted to test its restore capability. I imaged with both Acronis and Macrium then did a search for keygen and got lots of results from dodgy websites. Most I downloaded did nothing, probably because they were outdated but one installed one of those fake AV programs. Numerous pop-ups with critical error messages that dozens of trojans, keyloggers etc. were found on my computer which slowed to a crawl. Click on the 'remove virus' button naturally opened a website where I would enter my credit card number to unlock the 'pro' features. I giggled, powered off, booted off rescue media and restored with Macrium. My PC went back in time to the moment I imaged, like nothing happened.

When it comes to the internet a little cynicism goes a long way.

When it comes to working from home, Register readers are bucking national trends

Maybe it's because I'm a left-pondian but as someone who has worked as a consultant for large corporations for over 2 decades I found it best to maintain a certain professional distance from all co-workers. I like to compartmentalize my life. Work life is work life, personal life is personal life and never the twain shall meet.

If someone were to invent a Star Trek-like transporter where my commute would be in seconds instead of 3 hours I would come into the office more often. As I stated, I do miss all the excellent eateries and drinkeries surrounding the office.

Beer icon because I really do miss the drinkeries!

The secret is to have a social life outside of work.

It's the commute

Not having a 90 minute commute each way has done wonders for my blood pressure. I do miss all the bars/restaurants all within walking distance from the office but I much prefer my home office.

Microsoft Edge ignores user wishes, slurps tabs from Chrome without permission

I've found that a lot of people (across the tech skills landscape, from no hopers to professionals) all talk positively about Microsoft Edge. How much nicer it is to use over Chrome, how much quicker it is etc.

You and I definitely have different view of what an I.T. "Professional" is. You are probably referring to someone who has all their MS certs, eat and drink everything MS.

A real Professional knows that there is essentially no difference between Edge, Google Chrome, Opera, Brave and other Chromium based browsers other than the GUI and some included features such as ad-blocking in Brave.

Edge seems faster because it pre-loads with Windows and is always running in the background so when you click on its icon it appears to launch instantly. When you apply hacks to disable Edge's pre-loading and always running in the background you'll see it's no faster than any other Chrome-based browser. A true I.T. Professional would know this.

Firefox slow to load YouTube? Just another front in Google's war on ad blockers

Don't be surprised if at some point Google bans any non-Chromium browser on switch to Manifest 3

Which will cripple ad blocking extensions.

iPhone 15 Pro Max users report seeing ghostly OLED apparitions

But it's made with Titanium!

I'm waiting for the one made with Adamantite before I take the plunge.

Netflix flinging out DVDs like frisbees as night comes for legacy business

Re: bizarre state of affairs

I won't pay for streaming, especially now with so much fragmentation.

I was a longtime Netflix subscriber until last year. So much content was pulled that I cancelled after months on non-watching. I agree about the fragmentation which is why I don't subscribe to any streaming services either. I have Prime Video which comes with my Amazon Prime account but most of their offerings require you to pay an additional fee to watch.

At least there's TubiTV, PlutoTV, FreeVee etc.

Want to live dangerously? Try running Windows XP in 2023

Chromium 86 based browser for XP

I still have my Compaq V2000 laptop with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I miss the days of an OS that fully booted in about 30 seconds.

MyPal 68 is definitely the most updated Mozilla browser that will run on Windows XP.

Anyway, Chrome dropped support for XP after version 49 but there was an updated version (86) that was backported.

https://msfn.org/board/topic/184624-arcticfoxienotheretoplaygames-360chrome-v1352036-rebuild-1/

Good to have both for best website compatibility.

Social media is too much for most of us to handle

Re: One to bookmark

I usually reply with "Because I'm not an attention-starved narcissistic teenager or an adult of like mentality."

I too will be bookmarking this article.

Boss such a tyrant you need a job quitting agent? It works in Japan

Re: Job quitting agent - great idea!

MD then called the company this person was going to and told them what had happened and the new company pulled the job offer.

Happened to me too when I first started in IT. Since then when asked where I'm going I stonewall them. I am not obligated in any way to tell a now former employer who my new employer is. I don't even tell ex co-workers for fear it may get leaked to the ex-boss.

BT is ditching workers faster than your internet connection with 55,000 for chop by 2030

Re: "AI to take over in customer services"

It should be obvious that the purpose of these automated customer service bots is not to help customers but to frustrate them to the point where they will hang up and never call back.

Miffed Googlers meme on CEO's $226M pay award amid cost-cutting campaign

As a lifetime consultant I have on far too many occasions gazed at previous managers with a puzzled expression when offered a permanent position. To this day I still don't know why they are using the term 'permanent' when describing any job posting.

Beer icon raised to the poor sods who somehow thought that working at a corporation meant job/financial security.

More ads in Windows 11 Start Menu could be last straw for some

I wouldn't lend much credence to that comment. It more than likely was written by an MS employee or shill. This is the internet after all.

P.S. There are quite a few start menu replacements, free and paid. Openshell comes to mind although I've not tested with Windows 11, works great with Windows 10. No ads, thus flipping the bird at MS.

Bringing cakes into the office is killing your colleagues, says UK food watchdog boss

Re: Can we get rid of birthday cards too?

The food bringing or the card signing doesn't seem to happen here on the left side of the pond. The last time I remember signing a card for someone was during my time as an IT support employee at a corporate travel agency with about 70 employees. We all knew each other so when you signed a card it was someone you interacted with regularly. No one brought cakes/biscuits or any other food unless it was a special occasion. Prior to that I worked in a warehouse with about 30 predominantly male employees and there were never any cards to sign or birthday cakes or any other food brought to work. No one knew anybody's birthday but we did enjoy pints on occasional Fridays at the pub.

Fast forward to now as a consultant. No cards to sign or Birthday celebrations. We're all here temporarily so have little time for such indulgences. Occasionally some SVP will call us all to a meeting and there will be coffee, bagels and muffins. No one brings snacks to share with the team on a regular basis. This of course doesn't mean people don't bring their own snacks but the point is if you want cake or biscuits you will have to bring your own.

@Excellentsword: My weakness is pizza & beer.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes's arguments for new trial deemed spurious – just like her tech

Re: Baby baby

If her husband/father of the child is wealthy then a nanny will raise it.

Microsoft mulls cheap PCs supported by ads, subs

Cheaper to buy refurbished kit

and you get the same performance from mid-range used PCs versus brand new low-end. I suppose in some markets it may be difficult to find decent refurbs or just-off-lease but here they are plentiful.

Amazon CEO accused of trampling labor laws with anti-union comments

The main reason people want to unionize is because they don't like the way they're being treated.

Maybe if corporations would stop lying to potential hires with phrases like "great place to work" "opportunities for advancement" "exceptional leadership that recognizes and rewards outstanding efforts" etc.

If they would be more honest with phrases like "you will be exploited to the fullest extent" "you will never be viewed as anything more to the company than a disposable drone" "random firings are a regular occurrence" "ask for nothing from your immediate manager because nothing is what you'll receive" etc. then employees would have nothing to complain about since expectations were made clear during the hiring process. I imagine there would be a lot less potential hires.

'Baby Al Capone' to pay $22m to SIM-swap crypto-heist victim

Isn't social media wonderful?

/sarcasm

Microsoft delays controversial ban on paid-for open source, WebKit in app store

Windows Store does as good a job of vetting as Chrome Store

https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/super-media-and-dvd-player/9P57ZKWLZ6NJ?hl=en-us&gl=US

Take a close look at the GUI - look familiar?

I don't download ANYTHING from there.

Windows 11: The little engine that could, eventually

Re-added need for MS Account to download from Windows Store.

Windows 8/8.1 - need MS Account to download from Windows Store.

Windows 10 - removed need for MS Account to download from Windows Store.

Windows 11 - Re-instated need for MS Account to download from Window Store.

Hard pass on Windows 11 unless I'm forced to buy new computer.

Europol arrests nine suspected of stealing 'several million' euros via phishing

Average punter too naive

I get those emails all the time purporting to be from my bank, Paypal, etc. I never click on any link provided because I already have them bookmarked. I login to the same links I've always used, yup, all is well. Nice try fraudsters, you need to up your game if you want my logins, but you won't. It's easier and more profitable to go after the low hanging fruit.

Brave roasts DuckDuckGo over Bing privacy exception

DuckDuckGo TV Ad mocking Google

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWpPyYlZXNI

They've been airing this ad a lot lately. I'm curious as to how much royalties they have to pay every time they show it for using The Police's "Every Breath You Take" especially since they don't make money from ad revenue and don't charge for using their browser/search engine.

Cookie consent crumbles under fresh UK data law proposals

Re: Straightforward solution

Websites should not be allowed to set any non-essential cookies without the user opting in

They shouldn't but they do because you're just another revenue stream. Straightorward solution? Block all cookies, not just third party. You don't need them unless you're logging on to a website. Mozilla warns me that disabling all cookies will break websites but that's a load of BS - websites all work fine unless you need to log on. I cheerfully click 'Accept All Cookies' on websites that prompt me then check browser cookies - empty.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookiesnew/

This Mozilla browser extension toggles acceptance/blockage of all cookies. I enable cookies to login/shop/bank then remove them but otherwise all cookies are blocked.

No one cares about your privacy except you.

Microsoft's sought-after tabbed File Explorer gets closer to release

Sought after by who(m)?

With the vast, vast sea of Windows feature-rich File Explorer replacements that have been available since Windows 3.0 how is this relevant? I started with File Manager in Windows 3.1 but eventually moved to Total Commander. There are plenty of freeware that have had tabbed file browsing since Windows 95. Running out of ideas MICRO~1?

Clonezilla 3: Copy and clone disk images to your heart's content

Re: Windows imaging

Thanks but unlike Clonezilla Drivesnapshot is NOT free. Additionally, both Aeomei and Macrium have free versions for home use, have been tried and tested on various Windows servers/workstation editions and have support forums. I have tested Macrium extensively with Windows XP, 7 and 10 and have found it to be a reliable drive backup tool

Only tool that can successfully restore a Linux image backup

I installed Lubuntu 18/EXT4 on an old Dell PC I had. I imaged the drive with R-Drive, Macrium, Acronis, Paragon, Aeomei and Clonezilla. They all appeared to image the drive successfully to an external USB HD. Each time I wiped the source drive and booted off rescue media to restore with the above tools. They all appeared to restore successfully. Lubuntu would not boot. Repeating the same steps except this time I restored with Clonezilla and Lubuntu booted up to the exact same state as when the image was created. I also repeated the same steps except this time it was with Windows 7 x64. Wiped the drive, restored with Clonezilla, Windows 7 booted to the exact same state when it was imaged.

Clonezilla is definitely the most flexible imaging tool regarding file systems/OS I've used. Yes, the interface can be daunting to novices but El Reg regulars shouldn't have any problems. I'm not sure if it has the ability to restore an image to an HD that is a different size than the source, maybe someone else can chime in but Clonezilla live is definitely on my Ventoy USB drive alone with other bootable ISO tools I consider essential.

Original killer PC spreadsheet Lotus 1-2-3 now runs on Linux natively

Re: WordPerfect

Despite all the advanced features of Wordperfect 5.1 for DOS, the prevalent word processor of that era I was never a fan.

I needed at the time a WYSIWYG word processor and was introduced to Q&A by Symantec. It was nice to be able to see what your document would look like printed out as you typed (formatting, bold, underline, italics etc.) without having to go into a preview mode. Used it for many years during my university years with various dot matrix printers until I switched to Windows 95/Word 95.

Google makes outdated apps less accessible on Play Store

Re: Necessary abandonware

I have a lot of abandonware on my Android phone as well. One of my essentials is Extreme Call Blocker which, unlike other call blockers which send unwanted calls to voice mail, will pick up and hang up unwanted calls silently. I had backed up all those to my sd card so when I upgraded I installed all of them without Play Store. I don't upgrade any app unless I'm forced to (I.E., stops working like Shazam) so I rarely ever open Play Store.

The analogy of using PCs doesn't really apply since I have plenty of Abandonware on my PCs that can no longer be found anywhere on the web. If you like your software keep backups of them.

FTC sues Intuit for false advertising, says 'free' TurboTax isn't always free

US 1040 forms not as complicated as they are made out to be

If you can do addition/subtraction, calculate percentages and have the ability to lookup numbers on a chart you then have all the skills needed to fill out a US 1040. I used to fill out my own and still help friends and family fill theirs out even joint returns. Anything more complicated (investment income, 1099 etc.) I refer them to a paid tax preparer. I don't fill out my own anymore life got too complicated requiring an accountant to do it quarterly.

A basic 1040 is just that - basic. Single/no dependants? US 1040EZ (single page).

The forms are all downloadable PDF fillable forms from IRS website with detailed instructions and criteria for each.

Google's Chrome OS Flex could revive old PCs, Macs

I'll be excited when it runs Android apps.

No, you won't. As the vast majority of Android apps require ARM you will find that all but Google Apps and Firefox will fail to run (Force-close). I have installed several versions of Android x86 and found very few Android apps with x86 builds.

Three US states plus Washington DC sue Google for using UI design 'dark patterns' to harvest your location

Good for you. There are those of us that get lost in a long hallway. Which sucks. Before GPS, I just didn't go anywhere.

Yea I really like GPS/SATNAV - just not on my phone. This is why I purchased a dedicated unit (Garmin) that doesn't connect to anything except GPS satellites. It also came with free lifetime map updates. I still use Google Maps (not the app, in the phone's web browser) when I need to find points of interest. Location service etc. disabled which has boosted battery life and data usage significantly.

Throw away your Ethernet cables* because MediaTek says Wi-Fi 7 will replace them

Re: I'll Believe It When I See It

My Samsung phone's Wifi becomes useless when the microwave is on.

Yea, used to happen to me too constantly with any WIFI device that connected to my router's 2.4GHz band when using the microwave. That problem disappeared now that I connect exclusively to my router's 5GHz band.

I don't know how old your Samsung phone is but my Galaxy S3 can connect to 5GHz.

Buy your own router, not your ISP provided kit. Even if your ISP provides modem/router combo, plug your router into their ethernet. Makes your wireless life much easier.

Working overtime? Those extra hours might not be hurting your wellbeing after all – just don't tell Jeff Bezos or Jack Ma

Human Resources robot says working long hours is good for your health

Human Resources robot works banker's hours so has never personally experienced overtime but is certain that drones love their company so much they will not only sacrifice all of their personal life for it but cheerfully accept their fate when mass redundancies are made.

Silly Human Resources robot.

Canon: Chip supplies are so bad that our ink cartridges will look as though they're fakes

Well that sucks - I own and Epson CX9400Fax that refuses to send faxes if ink needs replacement but scan function still works. In fact, I haven't replaced ink cartridges in over a decade since I have a laser for printing. The Epson is a dedicated scanner now since I don't need the fax function anymore.

Notes on the untimely demise of 3D Pinball for Windows

Space Cadet Pinball works just fine in x64

Thankfully there are coders more talented than mickeysoft's that are able to port it to modern operating systems.

https://github.com/k4zmu2a/SpaceCadetPinball