Posts by Uncle Ron

SpaceX: 5G expansion could kill US Starlink broadband

Don't Forget

Don't ever forget that the cable-owned FCC specifically excluded the cell business from limitations on data-caps, throttling, and metered billing. People will be charged by the drink for watching movies, TV, ball games, and all of it, if they rely on 5G for their broadband. Their old cable TV bills will look quaint compared to the multiple hundreds per month they will be charged for 5G. I'm being charged $80 per month today for 50 GB of 5G per month. Currently, I use about 900 GB per month on my cable-delivered home internet for streaming TV, movies, ball games and all surfing. NINE HUNDRED GB. Do the math. It takes 4-5 GB to watch a single movie, and 7-9 GB to watch a baseball game.

IMO Starlink is under NO threat from 5G. I wish ElReg would get smarter before running inflammatory, click-bait stories like this.

Wi-Fi hotspots and Windows on Arm broken by Microsoft's latest patches

Re: Testing?

Yeah, sure. But what should be tested is the presence or absence of "BEST ENDEAVOUR. Huh?

Re: Testing?

It is a time-honored legal position in the US, tested by multiple legal proceedings, that you CANNOT "sign away your rights." Not sure it has ever been tested in the software industry, but somebody should test this against the OS monopoly that is Microsoft, huh?

I Wonder

I wonder if even some of these "patches" or "updates" that broke things were actually aimed at fixing or updating MS's ability to collect data, monitor usage, protect MS IP, move MS strategic objectives, or anything that benefits MS and not anything that actually benefits the user. I can't wait to move to Linux.

GitHub drops Atom bomb: Open-source text editor mothballed by end of year

EVERYTHING MS does is aimed at "potential recurring revenue, vendor lock-in, and information gathering enabled by cloud-based apps." MS wants to own ALL computing everywhere to the maximum extent possible for the author-stated reasons. I'm done with MS asap.

I love the Linux desktop, but that doesn't mean I don't see its problems all too well

Ok, Here's My Problem:

Most of the Linux desktops are just fine and dandy for me. IMO, they all work more or less the same. It took me about a half-hour to install Zorin OS (dual boot) and get it up and running on a new-to-me refurbed Lenovo desktop shipped with Windows 10. If it came pre-installed and customized by one of the top-tier vendors, it would be every bit as good as a pre-installed Windows machine. As with most things in my IT experience, it takes 10% of the time to get 90% of what you want. The remaining 90% of the time is required to get that pesky 10%, which, in my case, is 1) VNC to and from my other local Windows machines, and, 2) NETWORK SHARES !!! There are a few apps that I love that don't do a Linux version (like FastStone Image Viewer) but I have found a decent Linux substitute, and I will find substitutes for the others.

My point is that Linux (on the desktop--not Android) could certainly become the dominant desktop. The 4 or 5 or 6 'top' distros are, IMO, interchangeable. They ALL use the same kernel, so again, IMO, they really don't represent fragmentation. I would truly love just forget MS with the insulting Windows 11 and see them just go away.

VMware customers have watched Broadcom's acquisitions and don't like what they see

Re: Broadcom does do software

"What is it with US companies?" It's called "Wall Street." Of course not only US companies, but you get the idea.

Re: EMC, Dell and Broadcom - one of these does not go with the rest

IMHO, some one else already has created a "new virtual management landscape." It's called Red Hat. Huh?

Microsoft slows some hiring for Windows, Teams, and Office

What This Says to Me

Slowing hiring/headcount for Windows says to me that they're done with 11. Maybe a little spit and polish (IMO that is all 11 is anyway.) Unless MS rescinds the TPM, UEFI, 8th Gen nonsense, I'm leaving the Windows world when security support for 10 is abandoned. Linux Mint or Zorin will be my desktop. BTW, have all the hacks, ransom-ware attacks, leaks, malware, identity theft and whatever else, been stopped, slowed, curtailed, reduced or ANYTHING in the Windows 11 world? Huh?

Patch your VMware gear now – or yank it out, Uncle Sam tells federal agencies

All Will Be Well

I guess Windows 11 will solve all these problems, yes?

Yandex speaks out from front line of Western sanctions against Russia

Not Enough

What the West has been doing economically to Russia is NOT enough. Russia is still not ceasing their criminal invasion. As painful to Europe as cutting their energy purchases from Russia would be, it has to be done. Now. Europe is FUNDING this criminal government. The Russian government is a criminal enterprise. In total. As painful to the Russian people as a complete cutoff from the West would be, it has to be done. The Russian mobsters have to be stopped.

Windows 11 usage stats within touching distance of... XP

Goodbye MS

f I believed for a nano-second that 11 would place even a *dent* in the vulnerability of every Windows computer on the planet--viruses, malware, hacks, leaks, ransom-ware, identity-theft, etc.,-- I might be interested. But evil-doers all over the world will take said nano-second to get around TPM and whatever else is in this "new" spaghetti code. And I'm not at all interested in spinning up and maintaining virtual machines in order to run Windows 11. Forget it. The only beneficiaries of this HW BS are the HW manufacturers. New PC's will be required for +50% of EVERYBODY. No Thanks. When support for 10 ends, it's Linux for me. Goodbye MS BS.

When support for 10 goes away, I'm going to Linux Mint or Linux Zorin. My 8 home machines (email server, Plex server, backup machine, sandbox, etc.) run just fine now, but not one will run 11. I suspect when I get them all moved over to Linux, next year, they might run even better/faster/quicker--for a LONG time. I predict (and hope) that the other big beneficiary of 11 will be LINUX: Linux consultants, Linux app developers, Linux-skilled friends and neighbors, and ME.

So...?

Windows 11 growth at a standstill amid stringent hardware requirements

Bad Joke

I couldn't care less what Microsoft's "plans" for Windows 11 are. Until they rescind their elimination of ALL my home PC's and notebooks from using it, MY plan is to go to Linux Mint or Zorin when support for 10 is dropped. I'm gone from MS forever. Goodbye. (It wasn't so nice knowing 'ya.)

If I believed for a nano-second that 11 would place even a *dent* in the vulnerability of every Windows computer on the planet--viruses, malware, hacks, leaks, ransom-ware, identity-theft, etc.,--I might be interested. But evil-doers all over the world will take said nano-second to get around TPM and whatever else is in this new spaghetti code. And I'm not at all interested in spinning up and maintaining virtual machines in order to run Windows 11. Forget it. The only beneficiaries of this HW BS are the HW manufacturers. New PC's will be required for ~50% of EVERYBODY. No Thanks. When support for 10 ends, it's Linux for me. Goodbye MS BS.

When support for 10 goes away, so do I.

Google Maps just got lost for a few hours

Not Just Maps

I'm in Texas, USA. Speedtest reports 60-100Gbs. Win 10 machine reporting no problems. Modem and router re-booted. EVERYTHING Google is as slow as a snail. Gmail, Maps, Search, YouTube--all of it. It has been this way for 24 hours. I have seen NOTHING about this anywhere but El Reg. IMO, it's either Russian hacking or a HUGE Google glitch. I don't know which is more worrying. And NO other service or site is slow. Outlook is fine, bank and credit card sites are fine. Just EVERYTHING Google. WTF ???

Why Nvidia sees a future in software and services: Recurring revenue

Monetize

If there's one word I hate in corporate discussions in any industry, it's "monetize." To me, it usually means "charge money we didn't charge before for a twist on the same thing," or, "extract revenue without having to do anything new for it." In other words, "our stuff is successful and popular, (they're hooked on it, ) so let's disable it they don't pay up every month. Sounds to me like the policy or protection rackets, or drug dealers who get you addicted then milk you blind. If I was an Nvidia customer (including the OEM's,) I'd be looking for somebody else--right now. I dropped everything "Adobe" and "Playon" for the same reason.

Internet backbone Cogent cuts Russia connectivity

Re: Difficult choice to make

Vladimir Putin most likely has the strongest personal security of any human being ever in the modern age. Credible sources have said that he has never used a computer. Experts from around the world have said that he grossly miscalculated this move. I believe there are no "patriots" in Russia. Only abusers and victims.

US imposes sanctions as Russia invades Ukraine

George Washington

In a letter in 1779, General George Washington referred to the "black gentry" as those who put their own profits and riches ahead of their country. They would carry out acts that hurt their country and their countrymen if they benefited. We still have those types today in the US and across the Western world who need to be targeted in any of the "sanctions" that are imposed by us or any country against Russia. The Russian government is engaged in a criminal land grab. As Margaret Thatcher said in 1990 to Geo. Bush, Sr., we can't go "wobbly" on this thing. We need to impose ALL the sanctions available NOW, and enforce them ruthlessly. against both Russia and the "black gentry."

My Problem With the Left

I'm a Progressive Liberal, but my problem with the Left is that they are wimps. They are naive. Leaders who walk into other countries don't play by the same rules as we do. (see Japan's invasion of China and Germany's invasion and further invasion of Czechoslovakia.) They don't play by any rules. It's time to declare that we're executing ALL the "tranches" of sanctions (including "SWIFT" and any other possible financial cutoffs) that there are, and maybe some that there aren't.

It's time for us to declare several of the "republics" in the Russian Federation to be "independent states" and send peace keeping forces THERE. And we need to declare that we intend to enforce the sanctions in the harshest possible manner, including NOT waiting for international courts or the UN or trade groups to decide that some company or country has violated the "rules," as they most certainly will. All finance from the West should be cut off NOW, and all "suspected" Russian assets need to be seized. We know what has been laundered, even if we can't prove it. It will be painful for us now, but a lot less painful than failing to stop Japan and Germany was.

Russia's GDP is about the same size as Brazil and has FEWER people than Brazil. Russia is nothing more that a third-world country with nuclear weapons. And like most third-world countries, Russia has a dangerous narcissist in charge. We need to make Putin's enablers feel more pain than they fear he can inflict on them.

In any case, we need to do these things NOW. And not be like the frog in a pot of water on the stove not realizing that the water is moving to the boiling point.

Machine learning the hard way: IBM Watson's fatal misdiagnosis

Monkey Wrench

I posted this here after another Watson Health story and got flamed, but I still believe there is at least -some- truth to it:

"Isn't it possible that [at least some of] the cause of Watson's failure in medicine is that the people charged with making it smart and good were the very people that it would replace?"

Also, that people with 10 years of medical training don't necessarily know jack about computers?

Possible?

Isn't it possible that the cause of Watson's failure in medicine is that the people charged with making it smart and good were the very people that it would replace?

Suspected Chinese spies break into cloud accounts of News Corp journalists

IPv6

IPv6. Everywhere. ASAP. Huh?

Google Cloud started running its servers for an extra year, still loses billions

HW Cost

HW (all of it) makes up a substantial minority of the overall cost of IT setup. By minority, I mean <20-25% of the TCO. SW, power, space, people, etc. make up much more. Further, since they use exclusively commodity HW, GC's ratio of HW to EE (everything else) is probably considerably lower than yours or mine. I don't see how they could have reduced their loss so much with such a large increase in revenue just by extending the life of HW by one year. Something else is happening here... Huh?

Here's my take on this: I'm certain I would never do business with a vendor that consistently loses money on whatever s/he was selling me. Never. A company doing this (and can afford to) is clearly doing it to put unfair pressure on it's competitors (Amazon, MS, IBM) and should not be able to take the tax losses. They have no real hope of making a profit. They reduced their losses in 2021 only by using older and older equipment. Which also would make me steer clear. Huh? Is it fair for a HUGE company to pressure competitors by selling a product at demonstrably below cost? For YEARS?

Kyndryl spins out of IBM, stock starts trading on NYSE – and shares tumble

No Guts, No Glory

Whatever is left of the IBM psyche* of the last 20-30 years at both companies will have to die off before either company will be interesting/relevant again.

*Risk averseness, no guts, ignore the engineers/Fellows/technologists, cleave to the stock market, pay yourself first, greed, no vision, no vision.

Alien life on Super-Earth can survive longer than us due to long-lasting protection from cosmic rays

Zombie Cells

I have recently become deeply interested in the concepts surrounding "Zombie Cells," also known as senescent (aging or deteriorating) cells. They stop dividing, and they also stop working, i.e., doing their job. Think about it: Diabetes, arthritis, immune system--all of it would be affected. Life on any planet that has figured out how to target them and either get them back to doing business, or getting rid of them, would become ageless. Maybe Methuselah figured it out. Anybody smart about this? What's the latest?

Driver?

Aren't cosmic rays one of the prime drivers of evolution? A planet with intense shielding wouldn't have this driver, no?

For those worried about Microsoft's Pluton TPM chip: Lenovo won't even switch it on by default in latest ThinkPads

"Trust Me"

"Pluton is designed for Windows, and using it with Linux "is currently an unsupported scenario," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Register."

Trust me, IMHO, Pluton is a DRM extension that aims at nothing else but to lock out every OS but Windows 11. Again, IMHO, the only Linux that will work on Pluton machines will be the Linux embedded in Win 11. Suppose you have plans to use a dual-boot scenario. Pluton must be turned on to get 11 to load, but a Linux distro may vomit unless Pluton is turned off. Trust me again: Unless MS rescinds it's decision to make all my home desktops and laptops obsolete, when 10 goes out of support, I'm going out the door, to Linux Mint. or Linux Zorin.

If I had even a nano-second of belief that this mess would stop even -some- of the hacks and hijacks and ransom-ware and spyware and malware and identity theft and all the rest of it, I would scrap my multiple thousands of dollars of HW and acquiesce. But I don't have that belief. IMHO, It will take the evil-doers and government bad actors that said nano-second to jump over all of it. Make TMP/Pluton optional for 11, or MS is gone from my life. They're history, they're in the archives, they're in the rear-view mirror. RIP.

First they came for Notepad. Now they're coming for Task Manager

Who Cares?

I couldn't care less what Microsoft's "plans" for Windows 11 are. Until they rescind their elimination of ALL my home PC's and notebooks from using it, MY plan is to go to Linux Mint when support for 10 is dropped. I'm gone from MS forever. Goodbye. (It wasn't so nice knowing 'ya.)

Japan solves 5G airliner conundrum: Keep mobe masts 200m from airport approach paths. That's it

5G Isn't 5G Isn't 5G

All airplanes with radar altimeters (the avionics in question here) use the same frequency spectrum for their operation. In the US, the spectrum from 5G is "the next one up" from radar altimeters. 5G around the world DOES NOT use the same spectrum as the US. I don't know about Japan, but I know that EU 5G spectrum is much further (higher) away from radar altimeter frequency than 5G in the US. The problem of 5G interfering with radar altimeters in the EU (and probably Japan) and other places is effectively non-existent. Seems like the authorities in the US should have foreseen this MANY, MANY years ago. Huh?

A moment of tension as the James Webb Space Telescope stretches sunshield on way to L2 destination

GoPro

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but please tell me why the powers-that-be couldn't have installed a few GoPro's on the thing to give us all a look at how things were going. I mean, after all, we paid for the damn thing, why can't we watch? I'm not a rocket scientist, but I know for sure and for certain that a picture is worth a thousand sensors, and many times even the gear-heads looking at the data streams have gotten big help from seeing pics and video. The buzz-cuts at NASA don't have the PR sense that Elon has. He's got cameras all over the place. A few extra pounds--at most. Huh?

Db2, where are you? Big Blue is oddly reluctant to discuss recent enhancements to its flagship database

The article says: "IBM isn't doing the best job of marketing Db2, in general, both on Linux-Unix-Windows and System Z." Please name for me any PRODUCT that IBM does a good marketing. All of IBM's products are nearly invisible to the public. A customer has only the inconsistent pitch of a briefer in a center, or across his desk by a salesperson to understand what IBM is "behind," or "plans," or even -has-. Occasionally a TV ad or two during a sporting event--and even that ad is never a 'product' ad, but some wispy strategy ad like "Cloud," or "AI." Honest to god, the last time I remember a real IBM product promotion was the one-time "OS/2 Fiesta Bowl" in the US. I think IBM's product promotion is pathetic. It's like they believe touting their products is somehow 'unclean...'

Diagnosis confirmed: Oracle has a case of healthcare cravings, bought Cerner for $28.3bn as the cure

Lots Can (and will) Go Wrong

I see nothing in this but endlessly increasing costs for patients, providers, insurance companies--basically everybody. Healthcare in the US is the largest single industry on EARTH. Not just the US, but on EARTH. Voice interface? HAHAHAHAHAHA. Has anything from Oracle ever saved you money? This combine should be stopped.

Mars helicopter mission (which Apache says is powered byLog4j) overcomes separate network glitch to confirm new flight record

Consumer

It seems to me that the "Ingenuity" people could have used off-the-shelf components (of course not the rotor blades and motors) for tracking, imaging, and more. The intelligence and control of, for example, the DJI stuff is amazing, and the quality of imaging is far better than what I have seen from the Mars copter. Sad.

Irish Health Service ransomware attack happened after one staffer opened malware-ridden email

How About This?

It seems to me that a very simple solution to the stupidity of users of ALL organizational email systems is to simply disallow ALL attachments. None. Nada, Zero, Zilch. Strip them out before they ever get to a numbskull user. "Don't EVER send attachments. Don't EVER click on attachments." Sure, it would cause some pain and lost productivity. But not NEARLY as much as an attack. Simply include in a legitimate email something like an unassailable pointer to the "Excel" file or whatever, along with a regular, maybe daily, warning to NEVER click on an attachment. NEVER. No matter who it's coming from, or how TEMPTING the damn thing looks. DON'T CLICK. EVER.

Microsoft adds Buy Now, Pay Later financing option to Edge – and everyone hates it

Total Joke

Total joke. When support for 10 goes away, so do I.

Indian government warns locals not to use Starlink's internet services

License?

"If you are going to sell satellite internet subscriptions in India," you must pay us--a lot. Plus regularly scheduled "protection" money. Plus a little extra for some stuff. Thanks.

Red Hat forced to hire cheaper, less senior engineers amid budget freeze

Joke

Don't kid yourself. This is IBM speaking.

Cisco requires COVID-19 shots for all US staff – even remote workers

No Joke

There should be NO resistance or argument or push-back by anybody to getting vaccinated for COVID. None. Zero. No excuses, no opt-out, no push-back. What are you--NUTS? This is NOT a "personal decision." It is a decision that should be made my our society--like speed limits and building codes. For the good of ALL OF US. Unvaccinated (and even vaccinated) people can harbor and mutate and spread the disease. These are FACTS. Only people who just can't stand being told what to do resist this. It's a fact. Give me good reasons why I'm wrong. Reasons why we should let this virus be harbored and mutated in people who refuse to be vaccinated. Cicso is right: Get vaccinated or vaxx-off. I only wish political leaders and governments had the guts to stand up and demand this.

The mRNA vaccines are NOT experimental. They've been in development for TEN YEARS or more. They have been successfully used against SARS and MERS and perhaps stopped a pandemic from those two viruses. The only thing that was accelerated in the COVID case was the clinical trials. The trials used the same regimen and precision, just a HUGE expense to rightfully speed it up. The people driving the resistance to the COVID vaccine are doing it for political advantage. They want the votes of ignorant government-haters and they have fed these people misinformation and downright lies. They know what they're doing. I am really very tired of the anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers and half-maskers getting ANY sympathy or agreement or "both-sides" attention. Again, this is NOT a "personal decision." It affect us ALL.

Honeymoons last a couple of weeks – the same goes for any love for the IT department

My Wife

I vividly remember all the multiple disappointments I had when showing my wife some new and exciting thing I could do on our PC now that I installed a new OS, or program, or utility. On multiple occasions, her response was, "I thought it could always do that." No, non-techies,users, executives, wives, will NEVER appreciate what we do. This is a uniquely IT experience. Sales people, marketing people, product design and engineering people all get praise that is much longer lasting. IT people are mostly invisible--or worse, reviled. 'Twas always thus. So, whatever 'benefit' we got from the pandemic will not last.

Chinese server builder Inspur trains monster text-generating neural network

My Toaster

I used to laugh when MS had all those ads on TV here about their "AI" and arranging photos and what-not. IMHO, MS has about as much AI as my toaster. I put in the bread, and it knows when to pop up. Same same.

31-year-old piece of hardware not working very well: Hubble telescope back in safe mode over 'synchronization issues'

Just Another Keyhole

Hubble is just a Keyhole spy satellite that's pointing up instead of down. I know that sounds like a simplistic comparison, but it literally is true. Hubble was made in the same factory by the same company with the same basic components. We have ONE Hubble. How many Keyholes are there and just exactly what good do we get from them? How much revolutionary science and stunning images and inspiring insight have we gotten from Hubble? And how much from the Keyholes? (At least a dozen of them...) We could probably put up another Hubble with 2020's computers in 12 months if we only had some real leadership in this country. It makes me want to hurl.

VMware imagines 'memory servers' – a new source of shared software-defined RAM

TCO

TCO savings of 30-50% with a performance hit of ~15%? In my mind, maybe not so much. It is important to remember that HW contribution to TCO (HW, SW, Service, Personnel, Power, Space...) is relatively small. Saving even 50% on something that is, maybe, 15% of TCO may not be worth a 15% hit on performance. Especially since the implementation of 'memory servers' won't be free. Huh?

Facebook, Instagram finally end days of uptime by returning to some downtime

Dr. Evil

Do you think there is any possibility that this outage was purposely launched by some nefarious entity as a demonstration of capability? "We'll shut down *everything* in the lauded Facebook empire--including their card entry systems and internal email. The next thing we'll shut down is the Pentagon or the entire US banking system, unless you pay us ONE MILLION DOLLARS." Signed, Dr. Evil.

Actually, the demand would be more like ONE TRILLION DOLLARS. And it's not Dr. Evil, it would be Vladimir Putin, or Xi Jinping, or whatever his name is. Or maybe some totally anonymous and untraceable someone and wants the ransom in bitcoin. There would never, ever be any public knowledge of this. Huh?

Want to check out Windows 11 but don't want to buy a new PC? Here's how to bypass the hardware requirements

2025

My understanding is that 10 will continue to be supported (at least with security "fixes" until 2025.) Am I wrong? I will dual-boot all my home machines to Linux (either Zorin or Mint) beginning about 6 to 12 months in advance, and when 10 "goes away," so will I. Unless MS relents on it's terrible plan.

If I believed for a nano-second that 11 would place even a *dent* in the vulnerability of every Windows computer on the planet--viruses, malware, hacks, leaks, ransom-ware, identity-theft, etc.,--I might be interested. Evil-doers all over the world will take said nano-second to get around TPM and whatever else is in this new spaghetti code. And I'm not at all interested in spinning up and maintaining virtual machines in order to run Windows 11. Forget it. The only beneficiaries of this HW BS are the HW manufacturers. New PC's will be required for ~50% of EVERYBODY. No Thanks. When support for 10 ends, it's Linux for me. Goodbye MS BS.

Windows 11 in detail: Incremental upgrade spoilt by onerous system requirements and usability mis-steps

No Hope ?

I have seen *nothing* in any of the coverage of this ho-hum Windows release (11) that talks about SECURITY. If I believed for a nano-second that it would place even a *dent* in the vulnerability of every Windows computer on the planet--viruses, malware, hacks, leaks, ransom-ware, identity-theft, etc.,--I might be interested. But *nothing*. Evil-doers all over the world will take said nano-second to get around TPM and whatever else is in this new spaghetti code. And I'm not at all interested in spinning up and maintaining virtual machines in order to run Windows 11. Forget it. The only beneficiaries of this HW BS are the HW manufacturers. New PC's will be required for ~50% of EVERYBODY. No Thanks. When support for 10 ends, it's Linux for me. Goodbye MS BS.

We have some sad news about Facebook. It has returned to the internet after six-hour mega outage

Something Else

It appears now, at around 0200 GMT, that Outlook Live is down. Huh?

With just over two weeks to go, Microsoft punts Windows 11 to Release Preview

Joke

The article said, "Microsoft does not appear to be backing down on its vendor-delighting and customer-frustrating hardware requirements for the new operating system."

"Vendor-delighting" is the key phrase here. If I had even a scintilla of a stray thought that this new hardware BS would have even a tiny impact on malware, virus-ware, ransom-ware, data-theft, bugs, leaks or any other of the mountains of insecurity Windows represents every single day, I'd cave to it. There is no such assurance anywhere in any of the coverage I have seen. Evil-doers will get around this new HW nonsense in 5 seconds. It is a pure JOKE. Further, the focus on VIRTUAL INSTANCES is of NO INTEREST to me. I have no interest in implementing and managing and dealing with the complexities and performance hit of operating a virtual machine to get around the non-benefit of Windows 11. Forget it. When 10 goes out of support, I'm going to Linux. I intend to leave Microsoft behind forever.

Senior IBMer hit with £290k demand from Big Blue in separate case as unfair dismissal claim rolls on

Visible

Here's the thing: What IBM does is so much more visible, and it is so much more cautious than other companies, because it is so damned BIG. Whatever it does makes headlines all over and makes them appear to be the bad guys whatever the merits or facts of the case are. I worked for IBM for 42 years and found the company to be *very* sensitive to legal grounding and PR issues, and *very* careful, before filing law suits and taking employee actions. That said, IBM is not a pushover. If it thinks it's right, it will go ahead. IBM is not any more or less greedy or unethical than any other big company, and probably less so than your average small startup or NY real estate developer.

Like a phoenix rising from the smouldering ruins of its data centre, OVH sets sights on IPO

From the article: "Some clients lost data due to the incident and OVH has put in place measures to prevent a similar mishap from taking place, including a lab to model the impact of fires on data centres."

I wouldn't invest a shilling in a service that "lost data" due to a fire. What kind of cloud service doesn't have near bullet-proof disaster recovery procedures in place? That would seem to to me to be the very first thing on the check-list. Huh?