Posts by H in The Hague

'I am admin' bug turns WD's My Cloud boxes into Everyone's Cloud

Repeating myself

Now feeling even better about refusing my supplier's kind offer of a cloudy drive and opting for one with local access only than I did when this issue was first reported on El Reg.

Scrapping UK visa cap on nurses, doctors opened Britain's doors to IT workers

Re: What's that sound ? Brexiteers expoding.

"I and many like me voted specifically to leave the whites-only immigration club and open up immigration to fellow Commonwealth people."

I'm afraid I don't quite understand that line of reasoning - being a member of the EU does not stop the UK permitting immigration from the Commonwealth, or anywhere else, on whatever terms the UK wants. Or have I misunderstood you?

UK networks have 'no plans' to bring roaming fees back after Brexit

"I never fucking apologise for anything I write. "

Hmm, interesting. Suggests you're most likely not English, probably not British. So, wherefrom hailst thou?

Interfering with the free market?

"The government would pass legislation to ensure that charges remained capped £45 ..."

Errmm, is that Conservative government proposing to interfere with the free market??? When Labour proposed something similar (price caps for energy) they complained loudly about that being socialist idiocy. Can't see JRM and friends being in favour.

Milton Keynes: Come for roundabouts, stay for near-gigabit broadband

Re: Openreach

"- 640k will be enough!"

Young people - don't know how good they've got it.

When I was a young lad 64 kB was the bees knees!

A boss pinching pennies may have cost his firm many, many pounds

Re: computer merry-go-round

Ah, you've met my friends' builder! Mind you, his quote came in lowest.

A flash of inspiration sees techie get dirty to fix hospital's woes

Re: Noisy phone lines in building

"They'd just stuck the welding earth clamp where it was handy and were roaming around welding the joints ..."

A process plant a friend used to work at suffered more serious effects. During a shutdown the welders extended the steelwork and also didn't bother to attach the earth clamp close to where they were welding. The resulting stray currents burned out a rack of instrumentation and the start-up was delayed by a few weeks, at a cost of millions of lost production per day.

Interfering with ceiling tiles can be dangerous

Jason's story reminds me of a tale a colleague once told me (paraphrased as this was a few years ago):

"I got an on-site gig at XXX (sensitive government site). Four of us working in a room meant for twenty, so a bit chilly due to the assertive mechanical ventilation system. Figured I could just go into the corridor, pop up a few ceiling tiles, stick my head up the void/plenum and adjust the damper in the ventilation duct. Then decided against this, might give the security guards patrolling the corridors the wrong idea. I did mention they were assertive, armed security guards, didn't I?"

Time for a G&T or other adult beverage. A good weekend to all Commentards and good luck to all of you on call this weekend (I'm not), may we read about your exploits in these columns.

UK.gov's no-deal plans leave HMRC customs, VAT systems scrambling to keep up

Re: Annual?

"Currently i work for an EU based company and invoice EU reverse charge VAT. I have no clue how this will work post March 2019 and currently it seems nobody else does either."

If the UK's out of the EU by then you just follow the same procedure as for other exports outside the EU. Simply means entering the amount in a different box. (In NL it would go into section 3a rather than 3b of the VAT declaration form.)

https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontenten/belastingdienst/business/vat/vat_in_the_netherlands/vat_relating_to_purchase_and_sale_of_goods/export_from_the_netherlands_to_non-eu_countries

Hello 'WOS': Windows on Arm now has a price

Re: How much?

"WRT "Always connected" I've been seeing laptops with 3G and LTE connectivity for years. What kills them utterly is the telco fees."

Depends where you live. Here in NL 4G data is very reasonably priced, with roaming throughout the EU. On my Vodafone business contract I get unlimited calls in NL + EU + 15 GB data + 2 extra SIMs (for my laptop and mobile hotspot) for EUR 36 (exc. VAT) per month. Including roaming in Canada and the US would cost me EUR 29 extra. Haven't used WiFi for more than a decade.

https://www.vodafone.nl/zakelijk/shop/mobiel/abonnement/?icmp=nav-subs-simonly

There are also consumer contracts for about the same price with unlimited data.

VMware 'pressured' hotel to shut down tech event close to VMworld, IGEL sues resort giant

Useful info

Now we all know which hotel chain and software vendor to avoid. Foot, meet gun and Streisand effect.

Security MadLibs: Your IoT electrical outlet can now pwn your smart TV

Re: Some of this IoT Automation does have uses

"X10 kit since the mid 1980s"

Fond memories, though I never used it.

Now using something very similar for where cables are difficult to run: easy to set up, fits into standard Dutch wiring boxes and the Internet gateway is entirely optional.

Re: I have a "Smart TV"

"I found a "dumb" version of the 4k smart tv I wanted"

Could you let us know the make and model? There might be quite a few of us out here interested in something like that.

Boss regrets pointing finger at chilled out techie who finished upgrade early

Re: Oh so familiar

"Mythic Beasts. UK based and give excellent service."

Thanks for the tip.

Here's one for the weekend.

Home Office seeks Brexit tech boss – but doesn't splash the cash

Re: They had hiyigh hopes......

"And if (when) we don't get a deal, they'll be in a lorry parked up in Calais."

Actually, I _think_ that company's printing plant is based in the UK. But where are the paper and ink coming from? Hope they've ordered them early and they get delivered before stuff starts happening.

Phased out: IT architect plugs hole in clean-freak admin's wiring design

Re: Is that legal now?

"AFCIs are not standard equipment in most of the world"

Actually, they've just been introduced in the 18th edition of BS 7671 (the UK requirements for electrical installations). This is because arcs can have a relatively high impedance, so you can get an arc which causes a fire but does not draw enough current to trip the circuit protection.

https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail?pid=000000000030342613

"Protection against thermal effects - A new Regulation has been introduced recommending the installation of arc fault detection devices (AFDDs) to mitigate the risk of fire in AC final circuits of a fixed installation due to the effects of arc fault currents."

http://www.hager.co.uk/news-exhibitions-case-studies/18th-edition/arc-fault-detection-devices/89766.htm

Re: Plot twist? What plot twist?

"Unusual to have 3 phase in domestic premises."

Depends on the country. Here in NL it's usually 3 phases into the consumer unit/distribution board, with single outgoing phases to the house wiring. (Though you could fit a 3-phase breaker if you want to install some nice large machine tools in your home workshop :)

Talking of breaker panels, had a beer a while ago with a chap who refurbished an old house (in the UK I think),he turned the power off at the first fuse box and at the second one. Then started cutting the old cables, cue flash, bang and molten wire cutters. Eventually he found the third fuse box behind some wallpaper.

Here's one for the weekend.

Rights groups challenge UK cops over refusal to hand over info on IMSI catchers

Policing by consent

As I've mentioned before I'm a techie not a constitutional lawyer. However, I was rather under the impression that the UK has a system of "policing by consent".

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policing-by-consent/definition-of-policing-by-consent

"... a philosophy of policing ‘unique in history and throughout the world because it derived not from fear but almost exclusively from public co-operation with the police, induced by them designedly by behaviour which secures and maintains for them the approval, respect and affection of the public".

How can the public consent to a policing tool if they are denied information about it? But perhaps I'm quaintly old-fashioned about British constitutional affairs.

Probe Brit police phone-peeking plans, privacy peeps plead

Re: How do these work?

"The good thing about Napoleonic/Roman/EU law is you cant do anything unless specifically permitted ..."

Source for that statement, please?

I'm a techie, not a lawyer, but I've read enough legal textbooks to be familiar with the basics of both English/common law and NL/civil law. As far as I'm aware in both legal traditions you can do anything, unless it is specifically prohibited.

I'm getting really fed up with this bit of nonsense cropping up regularly. And whenever I challenge folk about it, they can never provide a source to back up their statement.

Heatwave shmeatwave: Brit IT departments cool their racks – explicit pics

Re: Additional cooling

"My suggestion to dump a few buckets of white paint on the roof, or tack a couple of rolls of alu-coated foil ..."

The top floor of H Mansion has a flat roof with black bitumen roofing felt. That floor used to get uncomfortably hot but I assumed that most of the heat came in through the windows and not through the roof as that's insulated. But applied special aluminium bitumen paint to it last week and it's made a real difference. Unfortunately I didn't measure the before and after temperatures.

Tip: paint the roof before the weather gets too hot. In hot weather the primer, even when dry, is very sticky and that makes work difficult.

What can $10 stretch to these days? Lunch... or access to international airport security systems

Re: Agreed

You could try hunting urban foxes instead. From their front door a friend in Twickenham once managed to spot six of them at once.

UK taxman outlines its CHIEF concerns for customs IT systems

Re: A new golden era of prosperity

"... a golden age of marmite-smuggling off the coast of Norfolk."

I for one salute our Marmite-smuggling overlords!

Is it still smuggling if you carry the stuff from Holland-on-Sea or Great Holland (Essex), or the Parts of Holland (Lincolnshire) to plain old Holland (admittedly on the other side of the North Sea)?

https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/dutch-links-with-norfolk_norwich.aspx

Bloody immigrants, coming here to do our drainage works and introducing their Friesian cattle.

Vodafone emits new wearable ... kid-trackers

Re: Lone worker tracker

Thanks - that's a beautifully simple solution. Have 'Find my device' turned off on my main phone, but happy to turn it on on a back-up phone. Now Mrs H will know where to look for me in the woods when I don't return home in time :)

Lone worker tracker

As it happens I've been looking for an Android lone worker/person down app. I do some conservation volunteering, sometimes in remote areas, and it would be handy if the team leader or Mrs H could check my location if I go AWOL. Unfortunately the affordable apps I've found look rather dodgy or ineffective, and the ones that might work only come as part of an expensive corporate package. So a dedicated pet or kid tracker might be a better option (albeit without the person down function). And more convenient in terms of privacy as I'll only switch it on and carry it with me when needed.

Does anyone know of a good Android lone worker/person down app? Or general tracking app? Happy to pay for it but don't want ads.

Galileo, here we go again. My my, the Brits are gonna miss EU

Re: HS2 and the Galileo replacement

"How many jobs have already gone to Europe or other - because the UK company was bought out by another company ?"

I rather get the impression that when a UK company gets bought by an overseas investor that generally saves and creates jobs in the UK. Look at the car industry: Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Mini and Dennis Eagle have all benefitted from significant investments by their overseas owners, without which they might have gone under with massive job losses. Unfortunately these companies have very complex supply chains across the Channel, and also exort a large part of their production so the UK leaving the single market is likely to hit them (and their UK suppliers and contractors) very hard.

"What may happen is that new opportunities will arise due to the restrictions of the EU being lifted from the UK."

Could you mention some of those restrictions? Something specific? Which markets/opportunities will they provide access to?

"I propose that we brick it by scrambling the encryption software that we wrote."

Not software you wrote. Software successful private companies wrote under contract. Or are you an extreme left-winger who wants to nationalise industry? Incidentally if your proposal was put into practice, no UK software company would ever get an overseas contract again - another great way to f*** British businesses. You are Boris Johnson and I claim my five pounds.

Re: HS2 and the Galileo replacement

"The EU cooked the books to get Greece into the Euro."

Errmm, thought it was the Greeks who allegedly committed the creative accountancy.

Re: HS2 and the Galileo replacement

"Look at Greece - the people have suffered severely under the EU - the Government may have been bailed out, but the people were treated disgustingly."

It strikes me that has to do more with the general weakness of the Greek economy than with the EU. As far as I'm aware the country has few natural resources and successive governments don't seem to have been that effective (get the impression there's a lot of tax avoidance). Without seamless access to EU markets and EU support for poorer areas their economy would probably be in an even worse state. And without a bail out the country would have gone bust - that doesn't help "the people" either. Please explain how they would be more prosperous outside the EU and without its support.

Re: Lets just get on with it . . . .

"Don't forget Lawson (Nigel) getting French citizenship"

He's hardly my friend (pro-Brexit climate change denier) but I think your claim is incorrect. As far as I'm aware he's applied for a "carte de sejours" (spelling?) which I gather is something like the UK Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Something which only becomes relevant now that freedom of movement for UK nationals is about to end. :(( Which I find v upsetting as many of my friends and colleagues and their children and myself have benefitted from that freedom. Particularly upsetting for the young Brits I know who grew up in NL and could have gotten an NL passport (while retaining their UK nationality) but didn't bother with that as they already had an EU passport - now they're truly stuffed. I am v p**** off with wealthy older folk like Lawson who have benefitted from freedom of movement, etc. and are now denying that to others.

Automated payment machines do NOT work the same all over the world – as I found out

Re: What pumps need is an

"Would you like me to help put the wrong fuel in your tank, "

Thank you for reminding me to ask Shell why they have hinged flaps marked "Diesel" over the diesel nozzles at service stations in NL but not in the UK. Seems an effective, low-tech solution to make sure folk don't fill up with the wrong type of juice.

Great news, cask beer fans: UK shortage of CO2 menaces fizzy crap taking up tap space

Re: Bravo madam!

"A government which does not believe in the invisible hand of the free market is left wing."

Having been in business for over three decades I respectfully suggest that the effectiveness of the invisible hand of the free market is somewhat overestimated. Yes, I believe in mostly free markets, but sometimes we need a bit of regulation to lubricate them, and to protect the vulnerable in society, and the environment.

Incidentally, although the term was coined by Adam Smith (who used it only once in The Wealth of Nations), he also advocated a range of state interventions in markets. See the leader article in one of the sections of this weekend's edition of the Financial Times, that famously left wing newspaper.

So, by your definition Adam Smith is left wing!?!

Tesla fingers former Gigafactory hand as alleged blueprint-leaking sabotage mastermind

"Compared with what "renewables" producers are being paid, those nuke plants are going to be selling bargain basement priced electrickery."

Don't think that is correct. Here in NL the government used to subsidise offshore wind energy. But the new wind farms no longer need that subsidy for generation (think there is still some support for the link to shore). And in my view one of the key problems with nuclear is that eventually there will be very high decomissioning costs, which might well fall on the taxpayer :(

National ID cards might not mean much when up against incompetence of the UK Home Office

Re: Residency registration and national identity cards

"When done without the sort of draconian nonsense attempted by UK government, ID cards can be quite useful."

That's crossed my mind too. Esp. as at present to prove your identify for, say, a bank account, you're dependent on the credit reference agencies. Which are private sector businesses (unelected, unaccountable, etc.) I would rather have a basic identity system operated by an accountable government. During our lives most of us have to deal with the state in one way or another (tax payer, benefits claimant, holder of a passport of a driving licence) so extending that to a basic ID system would not be unreasonable.

(That would also prevent problems such as those described by a Commentard a while ago who upon returning to the UK after a long period abroad couldn't open a UK bank account as he wasn't listed with any of the credit reference agencies. By contrast, after Mrs H registered here with the council, she was immediately able to open a Dutch bank account - no questions asked other than "Could I see your passport please?")

Developer’s code worked, but not in the right century

"Does running something again when you get something unexpected seem like a bad idea?"

Probably.

Is it something many of us do regularly?

Definitely.

"... ISO standards might seem boring in the extreme."

I've now reached the age where I consider that far preferable to the wrong kind of excitement.

(Anyway, those standards mostly say: think about what you're doing, do it consistently, and make sure you can prove it - common sense really.)

User spent 20 minutes trying to move mouse cursor, without success

Prevention at the pharmacy

Accompanied our elderly Dutch friend to the pharmacy. Pharmacist apologised for the slow service due to a new computer system being set up. Wandered over to have a look and noticed that the label printer's network cable was bent double right by the connector. Figured that might eventually damage the cable. Mentioned it to the pharmacist who immediately understood the issue, rerouted the cable and secured it with a sticky bandage (effective strain relief, but not a pretty sight).

Here's one for the weekend.

No fandango for you: EU boots UK off Galileo satellite project

Re: Well

"Whatever we export must meet the importers regs. We do not have to apply those rules here."

Brilliant - now manufacturers potentially need even more, different standards to adhere to. That's going to make manufacturing so much more efficient.

Re: Well

"The only pity is the spineless and incompetent tossers we have "negotiating" on our side. "

As you voted leave, you're responsible for these folk negotiating for the UK. Who did you expect to handle the negotiations on behalf of Parliament and the government?

It also strikes me that any difficulties negotiating with "Brexit means Brexit" EU folk are going to be overshadowed completely by negotiating with the "America First" US president. Or "India First" Indian prime minister. Please tell me if I'm wrong.

Tech firms, come to Blighty! Everything is brill! Brexit schmexit, Galileo schmalileo

Re: The Enigma to Embrace, Expand Upon and Enjoy .....

Adjusted medication?

Re: Our future is India!

"Sunny uplands await, the UK could become the India of Europe!"

Now that's actually one of the better ideas! After all, chicken tikka massala was invented in the UK (or not https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala )

Re: Our future is India!

"Sadly, my employer has just spent the last year moving many the service desk jobs to Poland ..."

Not the only ones. Started doing a bit of work last year for a US company selling kit into Europe. Their European headquarters used to be in the UK. Received a memo on Tuesday that they're about to open their European head office ... in NL. (Think the UK office is just going to deal with UK sales.) Yes, Brexit is creating jobs, just not in the UK :(

Tech rookie put decimal point in wrong place, cost insurer zillions

Sometimes rookies save the day

It also happens the other way round. A friend told me how decades ago, when the UK oil industry was going metric, they had a young chap (work experience or new graduate) in their design office. This young chap hesitantly approached his boss and explained he got the impression that the engineering department had designed a 100 km subsea pipeline, but that the procurement department was about to invite bids for 100 miles of the stuff. The next day the young chap was treated to a very good lunch at a posh restaurant by one of the senior bosses as he had prevented a mistake of many millions of pounds.

I see a satellite of a man ... Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, that's now 4 sats fit to go

"Population size, the EU is a much bigger market meaning it is easier to align standards etc. "

Exactly. Just happened to come across this in relation to a project I'm working on:

https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/design/

The Australian Design Rules (ADRs) are national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions. [...] The Australian Government's policy is to harmonise the national vehicle safety standards with international regulations where possible and consideration is given to the adoption of the international regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

I'll grant that EU >< UNECE but it is a good example of standards harmonisation.

Re: Oh, The Magic of Clockwork Theory Strikes Again

"... how much of this collective transaction can EU bureaucracy interfere with?"

Ermm, you are aware that India is hugely bureaucratic, are you not? Bureaucracy which the UK has no say in, unlike the EU bureaucracy? And has barriers to trade which are not going to disappear just like that (esp. under the current Indian government)?

What products/services is the UK more likely to be able to sell to Indian customers than EU customers?

Did you test that? No, I thought you tested it. Now customers have it and it doesn't work

Re: Soldering irons

"I discovered the hard way that if you drop a soldering iron, you should NOT try to catch it."

Just under half a century ago a gentleman of the very old school showed me how to assemble a radio - a valve radio, outdated even then. The first two things he taught me were: Yes, a 60 W soldering iron is perfect for electronics assembly (and if you do have to solder those newfangled transistors just do it quickly), and: If you drop the soldering iron _don't_ try to catch it. (I later graduated to rather smaller soldering irons.)

Chief EU negotiator tells UK to let souped-up data adequacy dream die

Re: Barnier's speech indicates that the group is not about to offer the UK an easy ride.

"Regulatory bureaucracies exist mainly to punish those found outside of the political orthodoxy."

Methinks they exist mainly to protect consumers against dodgy businesses. And to protect honest businesses against dodgy competitors.

"Regulators are unelected and unaccountable."

- Most regulators are civil servants, therefore always appointed, never elected.

- Regulators are accountable to the governments which appointed them, and implement the regulations proposed by those governments and approved by the parliaments.

Which country are you living in? Which regulators are you unhappy about?

Re: Well, duh

"I wonder what the May and crew have lined up to replace that source of income?"

Innovative jams, delivered by unicorn to countries offering golden opportunities.

Unfortunately, for the providers of my professional indemnity insurance (in the UK), they're likely to lose me (in NL) as a customer. Just one tiny example of UK businesses being cut off from a very large market at their doorstep, against their will.

The future of radio may well be digital, but it won't survive on DAB

Re: Radio as a gateway drug

"I think there's a huge difference between making something out of a tiny number of active components (in the limit, one diode)"

I seem to remember that if you had a crystal earphone that would serve as the diode. But memory hazy. I once had a 1920s or so book where the instructions for making a crystal set started "Go to the chemist's to buy .... bishmuth ..., melt together, break up, select a likely looking fragment for use as the detector crystal." (Stupidly threw that book out a decade or two ago when moving house :( ).

Agree that a crystal radio set was a perfect introduction to electronics. And a PDP8 with punch tape was the perfect introducion to IT (had to manually load (using 12 front panel switches) a short piece of software first so that it could recognise the tape reader). Guess that makes me an official old f.....rt!

UK's Rural Payments Agency is 'failing on multiple levels' – report

Re: RPA is not a UK wide agency

"Scotland manages to have it's own team of clowns"

So has Wales, I think. I gather life is particularly uncomfortable for farmers whose farms include fields across the English/Welsh border :( (source: a farming magazine I read a few months ago, can't remember which one). More details on https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/418703/Land_in_more_than_one_part_of_the_UK.pdf