Posts by joed

Facebook's 'Workplace' collaboration dogfood is now on your menu

let's hope

this crap will not be forced onto outsiders (just because they held a job at "progressive" employer).

Internet of Things will turn up the compute heat for data centres

Internet of Things will turn up the compute heat for data centres

just in time for global warming. I bet all this IoT initiatives come with empty eco slogans attached.

ISP GMX attempts the nigh impossible: PGP for the masses

Re: If you aren't doing the encryption yourself.....

if nothing else, the "assistance if the key is lost" makes the whole scheme sound fishy. Unless the assistance is limited to consolation email.

@WalmartLabs applies Electrode to get current with web dev

80 milion visitors a month

I guess most prefer WYSIWYG at the store.

Plus having to sign in/up (no guest accounts) to get an item shipped to the store turns bunch of shoppers away from online experience. So do kitschy front page items.

Apple to automatically cram macOS Sierra into Macs – 'cos that worked well for Windows 10

Re: anti-Microsoft rant more like...

The upgrade nag is also annoying on iOS devices. Just as much as wasting 1.2GB of storage and clogging my Internet access while doing so. Soon everyone will miss good old time when upgrade happened when one intended (and had $ to pay for it).

Mozilla tells Firefox OS devs to fork off if they want to chase open web apps vision

Re: so they want to continue gecko..

I'm in the same boat. But one has to admit that they are in tough spot. No real possibility to offer true web browser on iOS, marginalized on Android and MS is pushing the same agenda on Windows (because all OS vendors like to shamefully peek into user's data stream). So Mozilla is giving away independence for appearances, after all superficial user experience is all that mattered and dumbing down is they way to go (yeah right). They have alienated geeks while not gaining noobs (that settle for platform's defaults). The interface has got too chromey-feely, no man-in-the-middle sync got shafted and revolution is on the horizon. Still, for now there's about:config and Palemon (and alike) for for those that pick and chose for themselves. No matter whats it's still better than big brothers' browsers.

Intel, Lenovo officially gone to the dogs – with FIDO fingerprint logins

Re: FFS

"They won't boot Linux because of missing drivers." - But isn't it the case that Lenovos laptop would only expose the software RAID device with known compatibility issues outside Windows (10), while keeping AHCI option (available to Windows OS) hidden?

Will US border officials demand social network handles from visitors?

our tax money at work

"The DHS estimates the cost of such monitoring would be about $300m a year." - so where do I sign up for a piece of the pie? Or is this revolving door personnel only.

Latest F-35 bang seat* mods will stop them breaking pilots' necks, beams US

Re: minimum weight

I believe the issue is due to faster deceleration on the main parachute (same drag less mass pulling it down for lighter folks) while the pilot's head (and heavy helmet) suspended on the (weaker) neck continues down at original velocity (due to its own inertia). So for a moment there's potential for speed difference between the seat (and pilots body) and the head/helmet and resulting injuries. I'd guess that delayed opening of the main parachute let's the pilot-chute decelerate some of velocity though changes to helmet construction and neck brace (or whatever stabilizing device they implemented) would probably be of greater importance.

iPhone 7's Qualcomm, Intel soap opera dumps a carrier lock-out on us

Re: i5 and ARM are similar in performance?

BS, that "i7" in 13" MBA is just i5 with marketing pixie dust sprinkled on top. And even that mobile i3 is not whole lot worse - just half the cache and some less essential features fused off. True i7 can only be had in MBP. Any of these processors will smoke A10 in just about any task. Power usage (and device size) and possibly price will be the only downsides. Even Core M will be faster than A10.

No replacement for displacement.

Audi works with Chinese technology companies to develop intelligent cars

Re: Technology Companies? Really!

maybe their vehicle will cheat more intelligently, in fact it will no longer be coded, it'll be learned

Re: Audi Intelligent cars.

Well, he (presumably) was not a total a..e and "responsibly" landed only himself in that ditch. World of intelligent vehicles will be full of close (by human standards) calls. One will have to look the other way and grow thick skin. Bad drivers at least also risk their lives. Computers... relay on

infallibility of the code.

Remote hacker nabs Win10 logins in 'won't-fix' Safe Mode* attack

Re: Security 101:

Well, lost/stolen devices happen. I'm curious if the problem/exploit also relied on MS sign in (so anyone can just login in if connected to some network). Once in they trigger restart into the safe mode (this can be accomplished in other ways) and pick saved creds that not only give them access to local content but also to cloud stuff (if the legit owner was not quick to react and change the password online). Unintended consequences of pushing "sign in with MS accout" so excuse that "Microsoft will not fix the attack vector since it depends on hackers already having access to a Windows machine." may be weak.

Microsoft Desktop Bridge opens, Win32 apps can now cross into Windows Store

Re: It will not be long now

HP should be spanked for this. It's old news that 64bit Windows won't accept unsigned drivers and this kind of crap is unacceptable on support pages for fairly recent enterprise grade equipment.

Re: Too late for me

I've had no time to bother with the anniversary update and my "metered" connection won't let it slip through, so I can's say if preemptive registry permissions blocks I've applied will hold or not (including number of restricted firewall rules MS created themselves that I tweaked into my favor). The problem is that this cat and mouse game is not worth the Windows 10 experience.

I bet that any half-decent start menu replacement (like startisback) would make for clean and customizable interface but system's foundation will remain compromised and can't be trusted without countless hours spent on analyzing network traffic (that's likely encrypted).

And in general, MS idea of what's right for me (and the amount of traffic this generates) does not fit into my "broadband" connection. 550MB per cumulative security update, really (blobs that can be picked from MS update catalog does not add up to that number). And stupid apps (I have not asked for) generate additional traffic and waste cpu cycles.

Re: Microsoft need management.

Why would you want to save them bandwidth (at your expense) using torrent downloads? Anyway, myself I'll never plan on getting any software from their Store. That would require to sign in and that's not gonna happen. I'd sooner switch to Linux.

Using a thing made by Microsoft, Apple or Adobe? It probably needs a patch today

brilliant idea MS

"Microsoft's update for Adobe Flash Player on Windows and Windows Server." - exactly what true server needed. It's surprising these fools have not bundled their crappy Silverlight as well (though number of admins fell for it anyway and pushed it down the line). Probably time to move back to safe W7 platform (especially that I've disabled cumulative updates that keep turning on unwelcome features on 10).

Bug in Microsoft's StorSimple arrays can kill backups

a benefit of cumulative updates or just push towards MS cloud backup

Microsoft to slap Slack with Skype – reports

Re: Yuck

Social in the enterprise. As if most of us didn't have enough things to do. It's enough when admin team keeps trying to "entertain" employees (and find excuse for it's own presence). Hopefully nobody will expect us to be enthusiastic about and participate in BS.

Printers now the least-secure things on the internet

nothing new

Some 2 years ago I had to google some printer firmware issue. To my amazement one of results was admin interface of an HP printer in some local government office in Canada. I used opportunity to just print out polite message to take the thing off the Internet. I bet I could retrieve some of recent print jobs (if I cared for that).

Ice to see you! Windows 10 fix for freezing PCs finally flung at folks

Re: Dodged the bullet

And I'm entertaining the idea of setting up an LTSB or Pro Education even if I had to resort to likely dodgy KMS activators. Who should I trust more? MS or Russian hackers?

Watch SpaceX's rocket dramatically detonate, destroying a $200m Facebook satellite

was the autopilot on?

or just someone was trying to top off?

Want a Windows 10 update? Don't go to Microsoft ... please

yep, again registry wizardry is the only recourse. Make sure to block system and "trusted installer" from changing your preferences.

Has anyone seen it working in the wild?

I'm actually fine with peer distributed updates ... within my LAN only. Sadly, I did no see it working even though my LAN is definitely faster than my "broadband". Now, letting MS off the hook, saturating my upload link and burning through my data caps (however unlikely at my "broadband" speed) is of no interest to me. If anything, I'd like to show MS my appreciation for their constant "improvements" of Windows experience and add towards their bandwidth costs (to make up for the amount of telemetry I'd severely cut across my systems). Heck, I'd be willing to run script up/downloading random bits to OneDrive to help that cause.

Robot cars probably won't happen, sniffs US transport chief

Re: I'm not so pessimistic

Insurance companies may actually prefer hordes of bad drivers. It's not like they provided free service (and credit score alone is perfect way to jack up prices beyond levels justified by driver's record).

Waze to go, Google: New dial-a-ride Uber, Lyft rival 'won't vet drivers'... What could go wrong?

I'm not into social apps but if all that Waze did was to help coordinate matching carpoolers profiles (at interested users' consent) it'll be of some value

OneLogin breached, hacker finds cleartext credential notepads

cloud

nothing of value or only locally (client side) encrypted stuff belonged there.

Intel's makeshift Kaby Lake Cores hope to lure punters from tired PCs

Re: 70% over 2011 i5's

Just to add, no Intel CPU with U moniker (especially "i7") is worth anything outside hipsters' circle.

Uber lost $7m a DAY in the first half of this year

"Sorry, but at least it's only investor's money." - are you sure. I bet you're either willing or coerced into 401k savings (more and more with every year, thanks to FED's policy of keeping interest rates at levels reflecting imaginary inflation rates agreed with the Wall Street bankers).

Corporates ARE sniffing around Windows 10, says Computacenter

Re: It is beginning to happen

While the enterprises have much greater control over the environment having expertise or just imagination to toggle essential boxes is not always the case. Especially when MS seems to like complicating policies. Anyway, cumulative updates will remain such - at some point one is forced to apply all the crap at once (and deal with the fallout).

Re: 18 months

Unfortunately so called "suites" like to be seen as hip and progressive and will push this crap on businesses if only to avoid being caught into next XP sunset event. Business reasons and costs be damned (and so the privacy of employees). Sometimes it seems like MS is not just about Windows but also revolving doors.

Unlimited mobile data in America – where's the catch? There's always a catch

There's a reason why some stick to prepaid (and voice only). 70$ a month? Not unless I can write it as a business expense.

Touchy iPhone 6, 6 Plus chips prone to breaking down and giving up

Hopefully one had left Siri enabled (but wishes for a mouse).

Watch the world's biggest 'flying bum' go arse over tit in a crash

Autonomusly driven?

or just trying to fly under the radar?

US Treasury to launch pre-emptive strike on EU's Ireland tax probe

please be quiet or we bring democracy and free market forces to your neck of woods.

French submarine builder DCNS springs leak: India investigates

not much lost but money

I can't see any strategic importance of this contract. That diesel/electric submarine was good against fishing boats (or maybe some cargo ships) and not adversary capable of/interested in hacking DCNS. It's odd that India even bothered, unless waste of money was the only purpose.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update completely borks USB webcams. Yay.

Re: Totally unrelated. (almost)

Enjoy while it lasts. Beginning in October MS will start pushing cumulative blobs of s..t.

Shadow copy can be enabled/is enabled. MS just convoluted the access (if I recall it required opening folder as a share on localhost\c$ url). But in general it's true that MS has tendency to kill useful functionality while trying to push new crap.

Cisco axes up to 5,500 workers in scramble to remain relevant

Re: silver lining

@TJ

none of the "benefits" you listed were "extremly valuable". And mandating certain functionality by government does not make it valuable (unless you meant additional expense) or even just popular with consumers (that are simply taken away the freedom of choice). I have very little appreciation for all-in-one solutions and prefer modularity with open interface. You like your car with kitchen, sink and Internet access? Fine, but don't postulate that everyone else should share your preferences (and I bet that most is fine with single subscription for a mobile phone). IoT appears to serve mostly the vendors and pushes agenda of digital servitude. Business suits will surely swallow the bite - as usual eager to spend before the tax revenue, not so much with paying or hiring employees.

DoJ preps criminal charges for VW over Dieselgate

double standards?

Surely VW is not the only corporate entity that would use this treatment. And having individuals that signed off (or were just in charge) accountable would send even stronger signal. Golden parachutes are not sufficient ethical behavior motivators.

Tim Cook's answer to crashing iPhone sales: More iPhones

Re: Turning point?

Then there's also the issue of timing. When they switched to lightning connector the market was growing and the new phone offered significant improvements over the previous gen. I don't see much gains beyond gimmicks this time (as 6s offered generous performance gains that should last for a while). Removing features that large percentage of customers relied is bad judgment and likely costly mistake in in this market climate.

£1m military drone crashed in Wales after crew disabled anti-crash systems – report

from lowly drone to mighty dive bomber

"Crucially, if Master Override is activated and one of the altimeters is malfunctioning, the Watchkeeper opens up its “ground touch” window from 1m sensed altitude to 20m sensed altitude. In other words, the drone might decide it has landed even when it is still 65 feet up. Once the on-board computer decides the Watchkeeper has made contact with terra firma, it is programmed to select full downwards pitch"

I'd love to see the video of the "landing"

Linux security backfires: Flaw lets hackers inject malware into downloads, disrupt Tor users, etc

not linux fault then

the RFC has not been thoroughly tested and early adopters (or followers of standards) pay the price.

Three times as bad as malware: Google shines light on pay-per-install

I would not generalize. Not every Windows user. Definitely OOBE for Windows 10 users where MS resorted to preemptive strike strategy.

California to put all your power-hungry PCs on a low carb(on) diet

Re: I'd look at banning...

you know, this is American thing to kick the little guy. All the emission controls imposed on small vehicles while pickups and trucks get exemption. And as long as it's "only" CO2 a vehicle can spew tons of it (this may be changing in the end). Same here, they woke up to the fact of high power PCs (supposedly dying breed anyway), while all those proliferating data center wasting electricity for cloudy BS are just OK and cool (if only because of AC;).

Intel's smartwatches are so hot right now – too hot: Basis Peak recalled for skin burns, blistering

not just hot stuff

but also another example of vendor lock in. At least Intel has been nice to refund customers (that will be cut off from the service Intel decided to discontinue). I'm not sure why anyone fell for that.

Kaminsky: The internet is germ-ridden and it's time to sterilize it

does it even matter?

At this point the biggest threat are the OS vendors (like MS). Sandboxing more trusted apps won't help when the big bro is overseeing the content of containers. I'd rather deal with Internet germs than bugged house.

Windows 10: Happy with Anniversary Update?

Re: Well done for trying to find the good points of Win10 @h4rm0ny

Do people sign in to Bing? Really? Brilliant.

I'd never sign in to Google on desktop as well. I've made exception (using some throw away account) on a tablet and only because one has no option (and I've used it for nothing of any importance).

Mirror, mirror on the wall: Is Acronis backup truly the fastest of them all?

reality check

As a long time user and advocate I've become somewhat disappointed with ATI's problems handling UEFI and GPT disks (boot media in particular). Their cloud down your throat strategy (sign in/create account to activate) was just a step too far. All these issues have been addressed by Macrium's Felect software. Fast, reliable and easy to use (personal/free version). I bet the same applies to their enterprise offerings.

China cuffs ten white-hats, nobody knows why

cuffed?

maybe just involuntarily enlisted into PLA. black hat, white hat, red hat?