Posts by Aaiieeee

Corporate execs: Get back, get back, to the office where you once belonged

We all traipse into the office for that critical meeting that HAS to be face-to-face..

But inevitably one person can’t make it so there is a Zoom/Teams inclusion, meaning that there was no point traipsing to the office...

Voice assistants failed because they serve their makers more than they help users

The same applies to tv series and games

Series exist to make the creators money, NOT to tell a story. This is evident when they set out with no end in sight and either run out of budget and have to rush a conclusion (if you get one), or flop so hard at the end because there was no overarching story. I started watching Foundation and felt intellectually insulted by the end of the season*, it was so frustrating. Walking dead was padded so hard with filler episodes. etc

Started playing Death Stranding and near the beginning during a cut scene three Monster energy drinks are on a table - in some futuristic post apocalyptic society?? I can't un-see it and it pulls me straight out of the fantasy to remind me that the purpose of this game is to make money, not to tell a story (even though its been paid for!?). Again, felt insulting.

It is so hard to find tech that is geared towards the users' benefit, even if paid for. I wanted to enjoy this stuff so hard

Books are still a refuge

* it was brilliant till about episode 8 when the writers suddenly went 'oh shit, we need to wrap this up' and suddenly everything that happened before was irrelevant. They closed off all the tension built to that point and now have a nice clean slate for season 2. Rather than telling a story it fell into the seasonal story arc theme which fits around budgeting, not storytelling. Having not read Foundation I don't know what happens and whilst this may follow the books, it was a shit way to experience it.

Sold: €15k invisible sculpture that's a must-see for art lovers

From the tate page on the bricks

"Each of Andre’s Equivalent series consists of a rectangular arrangement of 120 firebricks. Although the shape of each sculpture is different, they all have the same height, mass and volume, and are therefore ‘equivalent’ to each other. "

I mean what the hell!?! He doesn't even attempt to recreate the work in a consistent fashion and has some story as to how him not doing anything has special cosmic significance?

Something deep down tells me I will never be wealthy..

So he produced nothing and advertised the hell out of it. He's a marketer..

My problem is that I don't have the balls to be that brazen; I kind of envy him spouting so much bollocks that some silly sod buys into it.

AWS Free Tier, where's your spending limit? 'I thought I deleted everything but I have been charged $200'

You can't really trust caps either though...

A couple of years back I racked up £300 mobile data charges for going over my free allowance despite having a £50 cap on my account. I complained and was told the system can take a couple of days to log and process data usage so the cap doesn't take effect as soon as it's hit... The pricks happily ripped me off for 2 days at about £10 per MB and kindly gave me a small discount for having complained.

Whoop! Robot/human high-fives all round! Oh, my fingers have disintegrated

Can't be trusted

The problem with algorithmic suggestions is that you can’t be sure its not heavily influenced with whatever the seller has got surplus stock of and needs to flog.

There are a lot of poeple behind the veil using many tactics to get to your cash

Boeing fined $17m after fitting uncertified sensors to 737 Max and NG airliners for 4 years

Re: That’s justice!

I wasn't aware of the cable car disaster and ended up on the Wikipedia page for the 1998 Italian cable car disaster. The pilot lost this job and served 4 months for killing 20 people despite knowingly flying too low and destroyed evidence… it’s awful.

NHS-backed org reacted to GitHub leak disclosure with legal threats and police call, complains IT pro

The passwords / API keys were not supposed to be public; by keeping a copy you are creating the possibility of holding them to ransom for their private data in future, to which they reacted quite understandably.

AKA:

"I noticed you forgot to lock your house before going on holiday so I went and checked it out. Be grateful I am telling you. By the way I am keeping these compromising photo that I found; don’t worry, I only need them in case you deny your mistake."

Train operator phlunks phishing test by teasing employees with non-existent COVID bonus

Re: spelling mistakes, a really obviously bad url

Then there is nothing for staff to recognise and identify it as phishing. All you will get are lots of people failing the test.

Remember during phishing training they show a 'bad' email with an obviously bad URL and it came from an obviously fake domain? Well if staff don't see that then why would they suspect it?

An email that came from the director, from a valid looking domain, with a valid looking url and spelt correctly with legit content - why wouldn't staff click it?

Are you suggesting staff should report every email from senior management as suspicious?

What a dick move

Here is some money.. haha just kidding.

For phishing to be any use it has to look dodgy; contain spelling mistakes, a really obviously bad url. Should staff have known a bonus was beyond reality and that was the clue?

Amazon says it destroyed two million knockoffs in 2020, a fraction of the amount it ships

I only buy recognised brands when on Amazon, there is too much junk to sift through otherwise.

Search 'projector' for example; it's possible some are good, but how do you find out? On the first page I counted 11 brands I had never heard of. It's possible they are all well respected in other markets and are now making inroads into my perception, but somehow I doubt it. I bought an epsom on the basis that there was some chance of it matching its spec.

At one point wasn't everyone supposed to be setting up their own 'brand', as if most of us have any value to impart.

Microsoft reveals what a growth mindset does to the letter ‘A’

"… look familiar to what customers know and love"

If by love they mean the love to ridicule stupid logos and statements whenever el reg points them out, then yes, agreed. I love it :)

WTH are NFTs? Here is the token, there is the Beeple....

I feel like crypto has recently got more complicated. The whole running a program on the block chain?? A black hole is opening up and everyone is jumping in but I can't see what the all the fun is down there (other than all the dosh that seems to be coming back out!).

I kind of get what NFTs are but also I really have no idea what they are.

I'm confused??

State of Maine lays off 15 independent consultants on $13k a month amid efforts to implement troubled Workday system

Can someone tell me what I need to study re Workday so I can earn $100/h

No really, I'll go do that. I'm a bright lad.

Atheists appeal to higher power for intercession over alleged sins against privacy

I wonder what the split was over.

They are inadvertently showing how we ended up with so many sects, denominations and even religions; people being people and branching off in the 'true' direction.

Re: Name jokes aside,

I read God Is Not Great the week before last and I would recommend it to anyone who is becoming aware that their faith doesn't really map onto the world we live in - there is a good explanation for that!

Ticker tape and a binary message: Bank of England's new Alan Turing £50 must be the nerdiest banknote ever

I can't tell why any reference to Turing also has to reference his sexuality?

I've got a feeling its a question I'm not supposed to ask but I don't really get it.

City of London Police warn against using ‘open science’ site Sci-Hub

Surely the real issue is that a pirated paper may be subtly tampered with subsequent research based off that?

It's odd to me that this is not the thrust of concern as it woud be legitimate.

Surprise: Automated driving biz finds automated driving safer than letting you get behind the wheel

It occurs to me

that being a driverless car test pilot is a really bad idea. If a (fatal) problem occurs your company will close ranks and use their financial might prove how/why you were negligent, regardless of reality. They have a reputation to defend; your boss might care about you (maybe) but the corporate body wants a good PR outcome.

I don't know what kind of salary I'd have to earn to take that risk

Would you let users vouch for unknown software's safety with an upvote? Google does

I don't get it

Either you know the software is safe (you wrote it, you audited it), or you do not. Therefore how can the majority vouch for it?

"I used it before" isn't exactly a glowing security review.

Qualys hit with ransomware: Customer invoices leaked on extortionists' Tor blog

Having had to use Qualys vuln scanning in 2018-2019 I can firmly say I do not like it at all. I can't comment on its ability to report vulns but administering it is not fun.

There seems to be a built-in assumption that networks are static and hosts don't come and go, like they do in reality. You can't throw a subnet at it and have it figure out what’s there and what vulns might be present; no, you have to map the network and then assign hosts to consume a licence. Decommissioned a device? You must manually remove the licence from it; it won't get aged out.

This breach doesn't change anything for me.

Valheim: How the heck has more 'indie shovelware with PS2 graphics' sold 4 million copies in a matter of weeks?

Re: No mention of Ark Surviva Evolvedl?

Yes! We played this in school; there was a bunch of us who would go to the IT class after school and during lunch to log in and do what we could. For a brief moment our maths teacher was ranked #1 in the world :)

1Password has none, KeePass has none... So why are there seven embedded trackers in the LastPass Android app?

App uninstalled

Seriously considering whether to move to a different platform

Linux Mint users in hot water for being slow with security updates, running old versions

Guilty

Reasons:

-I'm lazy

-It's currently working

..Oh OK fine, I'll do it now

LastPass to limit fans of free password manager to one device type only – computer or mobile – from next month

I only have the LastPass phone app for the once-in-a-blue-moon-need-a-password-on-the-go events so this won't bother me too much.

I undertand they need to make money from the service but I won't ever pay for it, I use it in part because it is free, so wil move if the noose gets too tight.

A key principal in cloud is data mobility so as long as any service allows proper import/export this isn't a big deal.

No egrets: Ardent twitchers fined for breaking lockdown after bloke spots northern mockingbird in his garden

Re: Is the point of a personal interest that you persue it?

Should people go and view this bird? No

Would I encourage them to do so? No

Do I believe it is appropriate or suitable to view the bird? No

Do I respect that they can do whatever they want? Yes

If a member of my family died due to an infected twitcher climbing into my garden, would I approve? No

Can I stop them? No

Can I trust people to do the right thing? No

Can I trust myself to do the right thing? Depends on whose perspective of 'right'

Would I break lockdown rules for a dying friend/relative? Yes

Would I accept the consequence? Yes

Do I believe that staying at home as per govt. guidelines is the correct thing to do? Yes

Yes, there are some things I will do because I believe I must, the twicher felt seeing the bird was in this category so how can I comment? I wouldn't break lockdown to see a bird but some clearly did.

What drives any of us?

The freedom to make bad decisions and take the consequence is entirely my own and I grant that freedom to the twichers too. You would have to physically restrain me otherwise.

Re: Is the point of a personal interest that you persue it?

The fact there is a fine at all sets a quantifiable level of risk to enable us to determine what action we should take in light of it. For some it is an acceptable cost of pursuing their interest.

If you want to stop people taking a certain action they have to choose not to do it when they analyse the cost.. What about 50% of all fixed assets and 30% of income (pre tax) for the next 3 years as a fine? Otherwise you have to physically restrain them. We are free to take whatever decision we see fit, and the consequences that follow.

You are appealing to the common good which may not be the default stance of other people (some twitchers, some senior managers).

For some people the risk of spreading covid is not high on their list of concerns.

Also, I never said I approved.

Is the point of a personal interest that you persue it?

If birds are your passion then what is £200? (public safety aside).

Seems to me that if you are put off by higher prices then perhaps you are not as into it as you thought (nothing wrong with that of course).

Fines are a way of quantifying risk and can be set against by whatever you stand gain from the fine-incurring activity!

Dept of If I'd Known 20 Years Ago: Call centres, roosting chickens, and Bitcoin

There was a bitcoin price spike in 2014 when it hit $1000. A friend and I who had been observing for a while then lamented at how it had peaked and we had missed the boat.

I have come to realise that calling market highs is akin to fortune telling. You might be right, but then you might be wrong. Call it 50/50 and if you like gambling have a go. Even now. Just do it rationally and don't play with money you can't afford to lose.

I seriously doubt anyone knowingly held bitcoin from the early days till recently to realise the gains that we all dream of. We would all have sold out at when it was at £10 a coin and been happy with the super duper profits.

I made my choice and am OK with that.

*mutter* bloody bitcoins

Salesforce: Forget the ping-pong and snacks, the 9-to-5 working day is just so 2019, it's over and done with

Re: ...and another thing

I think this is a real concern. That and everyone else will have moved to the country with WFH so house prices in the Highlands will be like London prices; you'll get a London townhouse for pennies though

The laptop you bought in 2020 may stop you buying a car in 2021: Chips are going short

I didn't

buy a laptop in 2020 and I have no plan of buying a car in 2021.

I did buy chips though and hope to continue doing so in 2021 subject to this shortage.

Icon for the fryer

CD Projekt Red 'EPICALLY pwned': Cyberpunk 2077 dev publishes ransom note after company systems encrypted

I reckon they are taking the right approach based on the article.

Since all the source code nabbed was for games already released, is it that much of a commercial issue for it to be made public? Most people out there will never know about this and its not likely to impact game sales?

Someone tried to poison a Florida city by hijacking its water treatment plant via TeamViewer, says sheriff

My bet is the engineer fat-finger something and needed a story to cover his arse incase any alarms were triggered.

This Brit biz's seven-screen laptop is something to behold

I used to require 2 screens, believing nobody could be efficient with 1

Since WFH in pandemic I've managed fine for the last year with no external monitors even though I have a few spare ones. Dunno, alt+tab solves most problems. Only issue is I can't remember how to do the alt+tab equivalent in Firefox between tabs

Faced with the sack, Nominet CEO half-apologizes for taking the 'wrong tone,' asks angry members to hear him out

He should be outed on principal

And, if he is truely repentant then stepping down would be a logical (and decent) thing to do.

Web prank horror: Man shot dead while pretending to rob someone at knife-point for a YouTube video

hmm

Presumably if I take a video camera on my next robbery and it goes wrong (and I don't die), I can say it was going to be a prank for Youtube?

Big data: Study suggests even a moderate gambling habit is linked to increased mortality and other bad stuff

Re: Lotteries

I think prize tiering for the lotto is fairly poor: it jumps from £1750 for 5 numbers to £1m for 5+bonus, there is no decent middle ground. £1750 is nice and all, but its just a part of a normal pay check, nothing very special.

Also, the lotto 5 balls + bonus has odds of 1 in 7.5 million whereas Hotpicks 5 has odds of 1 in 800k with a prize which would change my life.

Either way we play with optimism rather than necessity, so here's one on me* :)

*paid for with earnings not winnings, sadly.

I, on occasion, play the Lotto. I am very aware of the odds but as has been previously noted the feeling of possibility is worth £1*. I don't expect to win and the participation is enough to quench the gambling itch.

As for the study, should I start diging my grave now?

*I play hotpicks 5 on the basis that £350k will do nicely thank you. Millions would be ruinous; I'd just like the mortgage paid and to knock a decade or two off my working life.

Lars Ulrich threatens to make another Metallica album during web chat with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

Reload was the first album I ever paid for

They lost me at St Anger. Loved all their stuff prior but nowadays I struggle to listen to it.

Saw them live at Wembley after buying tickets off ebay for thrice the face value for me and a buddy, loved it.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now: Brexit tea towel says it'll just be the gigabit broadband

Drying

I absolutely hate the loud hand driers (usually by Dyson) that are everywhere now. Sure they get the job done but at the expese of my current pease of mind and contentment, and my ongoing ability to hear things; in a small tiled bathroom it can be excessively.

Second to that are the ones that (much like the one mentioned in the article) wheeze frigid air so that the rate of drying is extended to the entire afternoon. The trousers have to provide backup.

I am happy to report that at my current workplace the hand dryer is actually perfect; warm, resonable volume and timed to perfection. Its the more tradtional style dryer with the push button and the rotating nozzle.

Just the place you'd want to spot a BSOD: While waiting in line for a roller coaster that lifts you up 124ft

I hear that IT technicians who ride this often develop PTSD..

Perhaps the rollercoaster theming is inspired by working on the support desk?

Would-be .org gobbler Ethos Capital promises to keep prices down in last-ditch effort to keep $1.1bn deal alive

The very fact this is so secretive should mean auto-apply the brakes subject to full disclosure.

Secrecy = somebody is making a killing = this is not in the public interest.

The Wristwatch of the Long Now: When your MTBF is two centuries

So in 10,000 years

Somebody will discover a load of rusted, decayed cogs at the bottom of a well and think 'wtf??'

Your McDonald's demo has expired. For full functionality, please purchase a licence or try another fast-food joint

Demo food

The food is what it is.. my main issue is that after consuming something from this establishment you are faminshed again within 30 minutes.

If I just need to get my teeth into something and I dont much care for what it is, a 99p burger doesn't break the bank and can be found basically anywhere.

Social media notifications of the future: Ranger tagged you in a photo with Tessadora, Wrenlow, Faelina and Graylen

Vanity names?

My peers who are expecting talk about possible names seemingly endessly but not having a child myself I don't really get it. Chose something sane and easy to pronounce and move on. Ideally chose a name that is 'normal' for the culture they are likely to be living in.

Some friends who are from the continent living here in the UK named their child something that is a common here and their home country so the child would fit in either place subject to where they want to live.

Come to Five Guys, where the software is as fresh as the burgers... or maybe not

"Naturally, we would not suggest that the premium patty flinger's wares were as time-expired as Windows 7"

Is there a name for the above kind of expression which rasies in the reader doubt regarding the quality of the burgers yet in the same statement absolves itself of any responsiblity of providing that viewpoint.

I quite like it.

National Lottery Sentry MBA hacker given nine months in jail after swiping just £5

The real crime here

..is that poor chap being publically exposed as playing the National Lottery. The shame!

Also, he lost £13, not £5??

Alright! Ma time to meet that shag quota! Alibaba chairman steps down at 55 with $38.6bn fortune

Communist

How does having £38bn work in a communist country? He is privately controlling huge wealth..

(Sorry mate, don't mean to dob you in, I'm just curious)

Hipster whines at tech mag for using his pic to imply hipsters look the same, discovers pic was of an entirely different hipster

I understand that it's a quirk of human nature that everyone believes they are fairly unique.

You assumed the the above statement doesn't apply to you.

Lush scrubs its card-processing servers squeaky clean

Is it anywhere near the cheese shop?

I wonder if there is a collaboration opportunity here