Posts by redpawn

Windows 11 update knocks out USB mice, keyboards in recovery mode

Re: The question is...

I want to know which particular computer they test their builds on so I don't buy unsupported hardware.

Microsoft moves to the uncanny valley with creepy Copilot avatars that stare at you and say your name

BonziBuddy

It reminds me of that purple ape. It was supposed to be friendly and helpful. I had the repeated pleasure of removing him from my school's machines before the school purchased any anti-malware. Don't bother to look BonziBuddy up as he might respawn in your machine possibly under the guise of a parrot or AI helper.

Tom Lehrer: Satirist, mathematician, inventor of the Jello shot

So long mom!

I'm off to drop the Bomb

So don't wait up for me

But while you swelter

Down there in your shelter

You can see me

On your TV

While we're attacking frontally

Watch Brin-k-ley and Hun-t-ley

Describing contrapuntally

The cities we have lost

No need for you to miss a minute

Of the agonizing holocaust

Yeah!

Little Johnny Jones

He was a US pilot

And no shrinking violet

Was he, he was mighty proud

When World War III was declared

He wasn't scared

No siree!

And this is what he said on

His way to Armageddon:

You might also like

So long, mom!

I'm off to drop the Bomb

So don't wait up for me

But though I may roam

I'll come back to my home

Although it may be

A pile of debris

Remember, mommy!

I'm off to get a commie

So send me a salami

And try to smile somehow

I'll look for you

When the war is over

An hour and a half from now!

Thank you Tom for this great song! Rest in peace and my future generations learn from your lyrics.

Microsoft Copilot joins ChatGPT at the feet of the mighty Atari 2600 Video Chess

Re: Video Chess would occasionally cheat!

Looked it up, the Atari 2600 had not 64 Bytes but 128 Bytes of RAM. No wonder it often beat me!

Video Chess would occasionally cheat!

The program was great great on the 2600. The game console had very little RAM, If memory serves, about 64 Bytes though there might have been a bit more on the ROM cartridge. When it was the 2600's turn, the screen would flash colors as it needed the memory space for the screen in order to figure out its move. The result of this was that you got to stare at colors flashing on the screen and not the board while it thought. Higher levels blanked out the screen sometimes for minutes. I was told by another player that it would sometimes cheat, which I doubted at the time. Afterwards I made closer note of the pieces on the screen. Randomly a piece would appear on the board for Video Chess, maybe once in 20 or so games, which had been previously taken by me. One time a new queen spawned for the 2600 and not by a pawn making it to the last rank against me.

The program also allowed the user to preset the starting position. If one set up two rows of opposing Kings then started play, the screen would turn grey and lose sync and it would make a high pitched whine from the TV's speaker.

Great fun and not half bad at playing, even when it didn't cheat!

AI ain't B2B if OpenAI is to be believed

Re: Let's hope your resident BOFH is loaded and locked.

upvote for getting the order correct

Google says it's rolling out fix for stricken Chromecasts

Too Bad

they don't have enough staff to keep on top of expiring certs or was the plan just to have the gear drop dead out of warrantey?

As Trump slugs Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs, industry groups hope trade war weapon isn’t pointed at their feet

It's all in how you look at it

No interaction is any good without personal profit. Trump is merely creating a mechanism for enriching God's chosen leader, Trump (Read your Trump Bible). Pressure will mount from US, Mexican, Canadian and Chinese businesses to appease the anointed one resulting in a sufficient purchase of $Trump and $Melania meme coin. This will probably get things sorted before US inflation results in revolution.

Trump’s tariffs, cuts may well put tech in a chokehold, say analysts

Re: That's the point

He means bait like breath and thinks toilet paper will keep him cool as the the earth burns.

Dude, you got a Dell, period! RIP XPS, Inspiron, Latitude, Precision

Dude! You're getting bloat!

I don't know about the the meaning of the the tiers. Unless you are doing high end graphics, gaming or very large data you don't need the latest and greatest. Unless of course you are running the included bloatware on Windows. Most pron requires a tiny fraction of the computing and graphics power but the bosses will want the best and an AI engine on top of that.

Three more vulns spotted in Ivanti CSA, all critical, one 10/10

We are not aware of...

Standard response. Probably difficult to make them aware as they look better if it hasn't happened.

Mysteries in polar orbit – space's oldest working hardware still keeps its secrets

Re: Plenty of Power

I talked to the Space Shuttle once with a quarter wave mag-mount antenna and 5W on VHF. They used to make regular contact with amateur radio operators.

Microsoft has reached $1M giveaway levels of desperation to attract users to Bing

"Bing.

Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing goes the internet." If memory serves that tune briefly hit the top million songs for a day. They should bring it back and play it from every desktop. Sure to strike fear into Ask Jeeves and Dog Pile.

The hunt is on for the scum who stole Britain's largest inflatable planetarium

Re: Largest...

There is a whole universe of them. I worked at a planetarium for a couple of years. It had luggable ones that would fit in an empty classroom. A large duffel bag carried the dome and a trunk carried the star projector and fan to inflate it. I added a shelf to the box to hold a Kodak carousel projector for presentations. If memory serves, the trunk became the star projector support. The star images were crude and the moon and planets did not exist. They were quite a hit with the elementary school crowd as it was like being in the working part of a bounce house and dark.

Russian court fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

I have

$20 billion in my wallet when not using it as a book mark. But even with hyperinflation money it would be impossible to pay that fine. Even pretending carbon atoms were dollars, that would be quite a bit of soot.

Apple quietly admits 8GB isn't enough in 2024, M4 iMac to ship with 16GB as standard

I remember in the early 80's declaring 64K is enough. The guy I was talking to, with license plates "GOFAST" at a star party (astronomy) said that if you had a Terabyte you would find a use for it. It sounded a ridiculous statement at the time but with the exponential bloat of the OS....

Trump campaign cites Iran election phish claim as evidence leaked docs were stolen

Having promised a reward

for Russia finding the "missing" emails from Clinton's server, objecting to foreign interference is a bit rich though true to form.

Gas pipeline players in talks to fuel AI datacenter demand

Re: Please Stop this Madness

How is this a Joke? Marketing has done this since before the pyramids were built.

Light-weight solar-powered flying robots are coming

Re: Those with a pessimistic bent

How about a few 10^x viruses?

Car dealer software slinger CDK Global said to have paid $25M ransom after cyberattack

Ensuring the Future

will be like the past.

Devs claim Apple is banning VPNs in Russia 'more effectively' than Putin

Not the Apple I loved

I remember when they believed in free software and included a schematic with their computers. Now they are in favor of secrets and secretive governments for few rubles. As American as napalm now. Feel the Love.

Next-gen Meta AI chip serves up ads while sipping power

Sounds about as useful as Bonzi Buddy. Too bad I don't have the computing power to run AI.

First Armv9 automotive CPUs aim to power AI-enabled vehicles

Will it run without the AI?

Engine management, anti-lock brakes and perhaps autonomous anti-collision braking avoidance are nice, but these functions do not require AI. However, if you want the car to pick your restaurant and vacation destination, this might be your ticket. As of now I carry a phone to make me stupid and that is enough extra tech. It can navigate in times of desperation and has the benefit of being turn offable or even chucked out the window if I choose.

Elon and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad legal week

Re: What is it with these hard-right muppets?

No. They have money and power. We are different as we lack those attributes.

Reported $60M Reddit deal signed to train AI models with user data

Tesla

I think Tesla would benefit from this data set for its "self driving" vehicles.

AI won't take our jobs and it might even save the middle class

Who gets to train the AI?

What AI can do for or to us depends on the data set and rules the AI is trained on. My suspicion is that I or you are not going to be the ones given the training task. Thus AI will be a tool which does not empower the average person but just becomes another tool to control us. AIs will be promoted based on their ability to push power to the employer or large corporation. Expect egalitarian AIs to be made illegal.

Beer icon because Valentines Day.

Doom turns 30, so its creators celebrate seminal first-person shooter’s contribution to IT careers

my parents were horrified by an early arcade game where you ran over pedestrians with a very slow car, at which point they became grave markers that would bog down your car. The pedestrians were safe on the pavement but kept entering the street to be run down. All very simple, monochrome and probably responsible for the state of driving to this day.

Mac daddy Woz hospitalized in Mexico over mystery malady

Re: Not Mac daddy

More like Apple I and ][ daddy. Great work on the floppy disk controller as well. Get well soon!

Alien rock remains found not on but deep inside the Earth

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Interesting idea. Hope more detailed analysis follows. Also, how many sensors are needed to acquire this level detail of other planets' or moons' cores and mantles?

Astronomers spot collision between two exoplanets, both feared vaporized

feared vaporized

As if any occupants of the planets moons would know the difference.

Data breach reveals distressing info: People who order pineapple on pizza

Having grown up in Hawaii

and living there now, I'll pass on the pineapple on pizza as an abomination. Even egg on pizza is better.

Apple pairs well with profits, not repair shops

Re: Pairing

Did you read the article?

HP reveals bonkers $5k foldable tablet/laptop/desktop

It's missing

fold out table legs, a cup holder and an electric kettle. Just add those things and it will sell like flapjacks or griddle cakes.

Mozilla calls cars from 25 automakers 'data privacy nightmares on wheels'

It just keeps getting better

They need it all, in addition to your payments and maintenance costs of course. Have they promised not to make your life hell if you think of changing brands? Do they have to inform you that you can opt out of some of their data mining? Have they even promised not to DOX, or SWAT you if you object? Waiting for bicycle manufacturers to follow suit...

Twitter name and blue bird logo to be 'blowtorched' off company branding

Re: "This is an X Twitter"

No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Twitter Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!

Florida man insists he didn't violate the law by keeping Top Secret docs

Florida is for Felons

Everything he touches turns to Sh*t. Just checked my bathroom to make sure none of "his" documents were stored there. Relieved my paper roll was clean before use.

Salesforce boss Benioff scores payday of nearly $30m amid cost cutting

I'm Sure

he's using those millions to help the displaced workers find new employment, so all good.

NASA InSight lander spills the beans on Mars' core

Old Data =

New Discoveries.

Mine that data and share the gold!

With thanks to all the Boffins involved at every stage of the process.

Texas mulls law forcing ISPs to block access to abortion websites

Re: This Law Will Be Enacted

By being Dimmer. Being Dimmer causes the change that Theocracy demands.

Russian hacktivists DDoS hospitals, with pathetic results

Because

attacking hospitals will make the Right Pondians like Putin better? Or cower in fear of script kiddies and quit supporting Ukraine?

Tesla hits the brakes on rollout of Full Self-Driving code to new users

Musk's AI

Is it Self Driving or is it dead? My apologies to the poor cat.

Chinese defence boffins ponder microwaving Starlink satellites to stop surveillance

How many is critical mass

Satellites have a nonzero chance of being hit by meteor fragments or space debris. Each hit satellite produces more projectiles as in fission. How many can there be in LEO before critical mass is achieved without anti-satellite warfare?

This won't hurt a bit: Amazon now a US healthcare provider

Prime Members

will be able to ship themselves free of charge in a coffin sized box stuffed with packing material, to their regional Amazon healthcare center.

Microsoft injects AI search into Bing, Edge, Skype apps

Artificial Idiocy

Just what I wanted, as I am not stupid enough when using "my" devices.

Microsoft's new AI BingBot berates users and can't get its facts straight

Re: Sydney fell in love with a NY Times reporter

Stalker creepy! Manipulative and unrelenting, if you want to learn how to be in the worst sort of relationship there are lessons here that may have come from Love Scammers. Time to wash my brains now.

Apple complains UK watchdog wants to make iOS a 'clone' of Android

But...

I like slow incompatible browsing with only the most perfect of failings.

The Twitpocalypse may have begun, as datacenter migration reportedly founders

Edicts

I'm sure a proper edict would have fixed this. Perhaps He should have read The Prince before trying to be one.

US warns aging air-traffic control code won't be fixed until 2030

Re: It'll Be Soooo Cooool ... When We Add A.I.!

You forgot the ever important BlockChain! component.

Semiconductor world in for a rough ride as chip bubble bursts at the high end

Boom and Bust Cycles

I remember being told as and elementary school student in the 60's not to become a teacher as there was a surplus. Here in Hawaii we had a Christmas Tree cycle. Shortage with high prices one year and glut the next followed again by shortage. We seem to get all caught up in the current state of affairs and plan without seeing the cyclical nature of supply and demand. When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

British government torched over lack of chips strategy

Brexit

should have fixed this problem by now. Anyone care to check if it's happened already?