Posts by Whiznot

Europe mulls anonymous crypto-wallet ban, rules to make transfers more traceable

Cryptocurrencies cannot exist without price and volume manipulation through self-dealing. Crypto's opaque nature makes it seem like a market. It isn't.

Tesla owners win legal fight after software update crippled older Model S batteries

Not content to kill their customers Tesla decides to rob them also.

Ransomware victim Colonial Pipeline paid $5m to get oil pumping again, restored from backups anyway – report

Why did they pay $5M if they had the ability to recover from backup? The entire story seems a bit fishy.

We seem to have materialized in a universe in which Barney the Purple Dinosaur is designing iPhones for Apple

Re: Ooh, Shiny

If my Pixel wasn't so slippery I would go without a case. Why are phones so difficult to hold?

While truly self-driving cars are surely just around the corner, for now here's an AI early-warning system for your semi-autonomous ride

Self-wrecking cars are already here. Self-driving cars will exist when computers are able to think but computers will never be able to think.

A word to the Wyse: Smoking cigars in the office is very bad for you... and your monitor

Re: Incentives...

A month ago I saw a YouTube video, Diseases of Civilization, from Dr. Chris Knobbe. From that day until the end of my life I will consume buckets of lard before I eat another drop of industrial seed oil.

HP: That print-free-for-life deal we promised you? Well, now it's pay-per-month to continue using your printer ink

I use aftermarket ink in my trusty laserjet 1012 and save about 80% on cartridges. Screw you HP.

Help! My printer won't print no matter how much I shout at it!

My boss once spent considerable time trying to figure out what was wrong with the new x386 computer. I walked in and pressed the monitor's power button. I'm sure that many of you have had the same experience.

Now you can have a twist of 2019 in your 2012: Microsoft goes back to the future with Edge on Windows 7/8

I'm transitioning to Vivaldi. So far I love it but I hate the name. For some reason I keep thinking that the name is Valverdi. I need an extension to change the browser name to whatever I choose.

Stiff penalty: Prenda Law copyright troll gets 14 years of hard time for blue view 'n sue scam

Many judges unknowingly helped Prenda Law commit fraud but black California judge and retired marine Otis Wright smelled a rat and that was that, the beginning of the end.

Woman calls cops on shadowy baddie barricaded in bathroom... to discover: Roomba gone rogue

Re: Failure of protocol...

Your comment was uncalled for. Our cops are equal opportunity murderers.

Welcome. You're now in a timeline in which US presidential hopeful Beto was a member of a legendary hacker crew

Re: Nice

Beto's votes with republicans and talks progressive. The man is a fraud.

Re: Nice

Would you feel differently if it turned out that Beto infiltrated the group to spy on them?

They're BAAACK: Windows 10 nagware team loads trebuchet with annoying reminders to GTFO Windows 7

Re: Is it stable yet?

Koroush Ghazi quote below is the best comment about Windows 10.

"Let’s talk about Windows 10, my least favorite subject right now. At the end of last year I announced that for personal and professional reasons, I would not be doing a TweakGuides Tweaking Companion for Windows 10, but that I would try to compile a brief Windows 10 tweak guide. Well I’ve tried, and I’m just not finding it possible to write a decent but brief guide. Windows 10 is an ever-changing, non-transparent, disjointed mess of an OS. Many of its annoyances can’t be successfully tweaked away, and those that can require pages and pages of explanation. Furthermore, any such guide would require constant editing over time as Microsoft alters Windows 10 on almost a monthly basis now."

"But perhaps the single biggest reason I’m not motivated to write a Windows 10 guide is that I’ve rapidly lost all respect for Microsoft, and consequently have lost a great deal of interest in anything to do with their products. Microsoft’s clumsy, desperate, visionless push to get PC users to adopt dumbed-down mobile-oriented apps purely for their own commercial benefit; the unrelentingly persistent, unethical, and highly deceptive way they’re trying to trick less tech-savvy Windows 7 and 8.1 users into “upgrading” to Windows 10; and their insistence on reducing user choice and control over Windows have all left a very bad taste in my mouth. This is an inept company struggling for relevance in the mobile era by shamelessly abusing its monopoly on desktop operating systems, and I don’t want to play any part in helping them do that."

Re: Oh well,

I installed Mint for senior citizen relatives when 98se went end-of-life and they never realized that they no longer had Windows. I plan on keeping Win 7 for WMC and its ability to record and play protected content. Malware worries me less than Windows 10 does.

Windows 10 Springwatch: See the majestic Microsoft in its natural habitat, fixing stuff the last patch broke

Koroush Ghazi of Tweak Guides.com on Windows 10

Let’s talk about Windows 10, my least favorite subject right now. At the end of last year I announced that for personal and professional reasons, I would not be doing a TweakGuides Tweaking Companion for Windows 10, but that I would try to compile a brief Windows 10 tweak guide. Well I’ve tried, and I’m just not finding it possible to write a decent but brief guide. Windows 10 is an ever-changing, non-transparent, disjointed mess of an OS. Many of its annoyances can’t be successfully tweaked away, and those that can require pages and pages of explanation. Furthermore, any such guide would require constant editing over time as Microsoft alters Windows 10 on almost a monthly basis now.

But perhaps the single biggest reason I’m not motivated to write a Windows 10 guide is that I’ve rapidly lost all respect for Microsoft, and consequently have lost a great deal of interest in anything to do with their products. Microsoft’s clumsy, desperate, visionless push to get PC users to adopt dumbed-down mobile-oriented apps purely for their own commercial benefit; the unrelentingly persistent, unethical, and highly deceptive way they’re trying to trick less tech-savvy Windows 7 and 8.1 users into “upgrading” to Windows 10; and their insistence on reducing user choice and control over Windows have all left a very bad taste in my mouth. This is an inept company struggling for relevance in the mobile era by shamelessly abusing its monopoly on desktop operating systems, and I don’t want to play any part in helping them do that.

Autonomous vehicle claims are just a load of hot air… and here's why

Politicians & nerds, please don't kill me.

I read that Uber's self-driving cars required human intervention every 11 minutes, on average. I drove from New York City to Los Angeles and never needed anyone to intervene.

Finally, a tech writer who isn't a moron.

Self-driving cars don't care who they kill or main. The humans who produce self-driving cars don't care who their cars kill or maim. Computers cannot think. Computers can't anticipate in the same way that humans can. We are going to witness a fiasco caused by hubris and greed.

It's baaack – WannaCry nasty soars through Boeing's computers

Did that happen before or after the Russian spies were kicked out of Seattle?

Fatal driverless crash: Radar-maker says Uber disabled safety systems

Self-driving cars will always be inferior to good human drivers because they cannot think. Humans are able to anticipate potential risks. Self-driving cars can only react.

Voice assistants are always listening. So why won't they call police if they hear a crime?

Keeping up with the times, the Register descends into idiocy.

Oh sh-itcoin! Crypto-dosh swap-shop Coinbase empties punters' bank accounts

Some libertarians, like me, realize that markets must be regulated to prevent theft through collusion and market manipulation. Unfortunately, regulators can be corrupt so there is a need for transparency. Free markets are under attack from people who want government to set prices and allocate resources. Free markets are also under attack from proponents who want to be free to collude and manipulate.

Raspberry Pi burning up? Microsoft's recipe can save it and AI

Re: Why?

The Flirc case cools the RPi3 dramatically lower than does small passive heatsinks. I never use mine for anything more demanding than playing video with analog audio enabled.

President Trump to his council of industry CEO buddies: You're fired!

Re: Dell is loyal?

Dell still has customers? Who knew?

FCC: We could tell you our cybersecurity plan… but we'd have to kill you

So Pai comes with the lie that covers the lie that covered the lie that covered the lie. My government always lies. Their deception would be more effective if they occasionally mixed in some truth along with the lies.

AlphaBay and Hansa: About those dark web marketplaces takedowns

Those who say that the war on drugs failed are missing the point. The politicians who have generated billions from a forced monopoly know that prohibition is a goldmine. Only idiots assume that the point of the drug war is to protect society.

RightNow founder turned politician gets assault charge after 'bodyslamming' reporter

Gianforte is a Bryon (Low Tax) Looper wannabee.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Looper

Windows 10: Triumphs and tragedies from Microsoft Build

Re: MS please fix the real issue

Are you aware on Spybot Anti Beacon? It blocks telemetry.

CIA boss: Make America (a) great (big database of surveillance on citizens, foreigners) again!

Re: The Phoenix Syndrome

What a bunch of crap. Most Americans hate Trump and his Nazi pals. Unfortunately, evil has a lock on power. I live in a totalitarian state poorly disguised as a democracy. Hard lessons are going to be learned.

CEO of shady ad site Backpage and owners arrested on human trafficking suspicions

How did the girl manage to stay 15 for three years?

Debian founder Ian Murdock killed himself – SF medical examiner

Re: With friends like that ...

Here in the good old USA only fools call the cops to help a friend. If your enemy needs assistance, consider calling out the swat team for help. View the award-winning film "Peace Officer" made by the sheriff who founded Utah's first Swat team that years later gunned down one of his family members. http://www.peaceofficerfilm.com/

A real friend would get in touch with mutual friends to find a better option. I'm sure that there had to be someone in San Francisco who cared for Murdock.

White hats bake TeslaCrypt master key into universal decryptor

I'm not making an accusation but always consider the possibility of collusion between the white hats and the black hats. Without the black hats the white hats are kaput.

Researcher arrested after reporting pwnage hole in elections site

Re: Breaking into computers you don't own..

Your comment is a poor characterization of reality. The hole in election machine security exists to enable rigged elections. The rulers in control don't like their tricks exposed. Go directly to jail.

Space boffins win $3m prize for discovering gravitational waves

How big a prize will I win when I teach the world gravitational wave surfing. It's really fun but the wipe outs are a bitch.

Audiophile torrent site What.CD fully pwnable thanks to wrecked RNG

Re: "Users must maintain a high upload to download ratio to continue to download from the site"

So you don't pirate you just upload to pirates.

Microsoft U-turns on 'free' Windows 10 upgrade promise for ALL previewers

Windows 7 is the last Microsoft OS I'll ever use. I tried Windows 8 and despised it. When Windows XP support ended I had to install Linux on some older computers and I like it fine. I do favor Windows 7 for WMC and its DVR function but I'll be able to have the same functionality with Linux once Silicon Dust releases its DVR software.

Windows 10 upgrade ADWARE forces its way on to Windows 7 and 8.1

Oh, lucky day. Microsoft is offering to take away my DVR for free. What's the catch?

Post-pub nosh neckfiller: Bog-standard boxty

My God! You Brits must produce the world's worst food. Every dish I've ever seen on this sight is an abomination.

So why the hell do we bail banks out?

The Great American Ponzi Economy doesn't work without larcenous investment bankers flogging vast quantities of phony paper. Real GDP is very small so politicians need the help of colluding banksters who generate paper income in the form of a bubble. The irony is that the more money the banksters steal the healthier the economy appears before the inevitable crash.

PIRATES and THIEVES to get Windows 10 as BOOTY

Congratulations Microsoft. You've finally found a way to severely punish pirates.

Free Windows 10 could mean the END for Microsoft and the PC biz

Windows 10 lacks WMC's outstanding PVR functionality. WMC is great for recording from multiple TV channels with an HD Homerun Prime. No thanks for the free downgrade from Windows 7.

My TIGHT PANTS made my HUGE iPHONE go all BENDY!

Re: The next announcement

The microwave oven works faster, or so I've heard. YMMV

Cracking copyright law: How a simian selfie stunt could make a monkey out of Wikipedia

Could Slater claim copyright by marrying the monkey?

Today's get-rich-quick scheme: Build your own bank

But how do you pilfer the deposits if you can't surreptitiously lend to yourself through straw men nominees?

Dutch doctors replace woman's skull with 3D-printed plastic copy

I want a skinless gold skull. Gonna win the bling war.

Friends don't do tech support for friends running Windows XP

I know people still running DOS 6.2 who see no reason to upgrade. If you like your XP you can keep your XP.

Mars One's certain-death space jolly shortlists 1,000 wannabe explorers

There is no pot on Mars. Count me out.

Snowden leak journo leaks next leak: NSA, GCHQ dying to snoop on your gadgets mid-flight

Every breath you take

Every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I'll be watching you.

Every single day

Every word you say

Every game you play

Every night you stay

I'll be watching you.

Oh can't you see

You belong to me?

US military's RAY-GUN truck BLASTS DRONES, mortars OUT OF THE SKY

I'm afraid they might put a hole in the moon.

REVEALED: How YOU PAY extra for iPHONES - even if you DON'T HAVE ONE

The apples are going rotten but people are being forced to eat them. Bad Apple.