Posts by Miss Config

Dutch tax office ditches Microsoft 365 cloud for on-premises alternative

Personal Data About The Dutch

As regards the US CLOUD Act, the House of Representatives can be at least as bad as Trump.

They got Microsoft to reveal personal details about Dutch servants whose job it was to enforce EUROPEAN laws on digital privacy etc.

A very unamusing irony.

Details here :

https://nltimes.nl/2026/05/22/microsoft-accused-leaking-dutch-civil-servants-names-us-government

Dunno how to create a link on The Reg, but here is the most relevant part of that link :

Microsoft has reportedly shared the names of Dutch civil servants working for two regulatory agencies with the U.S. House of Representatives.

The agencies involved include the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP),

according to an article published on Friday by Vrij Nederland.

The civil servants involved are working on implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European law that forces online platforms to take stricter action

against illegal content, online child sex abuse, and disinformation. The American government considers this law a form of censorship.

Microsoft shared emails, minutes, and invitations sent by these civil servants without redacting their names in the documents.

American tech companies are required to share data with the U.S. government due to the Cloud Act in force in that country.

State Secretary Eric van der Burg of Interior is concerned that Microsoft simply shared civil servants’ names with the U.S. government.

France’s digital directorate dumping Windows desktops, adopting Linux instead

France is Fighting American Law

Maybe you managed to miss the point because it is so 'cloudy'.

Any computer data anywhere on the planet can be copied to the US if that data is under the control of an American company,

say on Microsoft Azure.

It's the Law. Specifically the US CLOUD Act 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLOUD_Act

Here is an explanation of the French reaction :

https://eliatra.com/blog/the-sovereignty-illusion-why-awss-european-cloud-cannot-escape-us/

( Sorry, do not know how to create hyperlink on this site. )

Microsoft: Removing some Copilots will improve Windows 11

AI or Not ?

Maybe the non-use of AI is the computer equivalent of being a vegetarian but IMO users should always have the explicit choice to use AI or not.

And if Microsoft does not do that then Linux should :

Linux users only use AI when they so choose

Curse of AI to push up PC prices as memory and CPU shortages bite

Linux AI

This article is totally deficient in hiding from everybody how much all that Linux AI that Linux is forcing on us is going to actually cost.

This is not just any 'cyber incident' … this is an M&S 'cyber incident'

See For Myself

I came across this problem yesterday when I was buying stuff in M&S using self-service check out and had trouble getting it to accept my debit card

( although it did eventually ).

Europa Clipper heads to Jupiter: Can its icy moon support life?

So which probe will 'succeed' ?

Seems the exobiology community has the equivalent of a 'Mac vs. PC' argument in terms of which Jovian moon, Europa or Ganymede, is more likely to have life ?

What I find 'funny' is that it is the "EUROP e ANS" who are going to Ganymede.

I presume NASA chose 'its' moon first and the NASA in-house 'consensus' must be that Europa has a better chance of having life.

But at least JUICE and Europa Clipper will between them send the right answers.

Silicon, stars, and sulfur make Apollo's unlikely legacy

And The Law Won

There is a mention of silicon but of silicon chips only in passing.

Complete non-mention of Moore's Law .

Explain as simply as possible how New Horizons was able to explore Pluto in far more detail than Voyager explored places such as Saturn :

Moore's Law.

How a cheap barcode scanner helped fix CrowdStrike'd Windows PCs in a flash

Wrong Place For Article ?

From Reg's pov the only problem with this story is that there is now one fewer tale for Who, Me ?

FTX crypto-villain Sam Bankman-Fried convicted on all charges

Exception That Proves The Rule

At least SBF is the only crooked executive in the crypto community.

Now that they've got the one rotten apple out of the barrel, the cryptocurrency market can go on making big profits for everybody.

Bank of Ireland outage sees customers queue for 'free' cash – or maybe any cash

Bank of Ireland Incompetent ?

I am shocked, SHOCKED that Bank of Ireland, of all banks, could actually have a bug in its system.

Almost a year ago I tried to open a current account with Bank of Ireland via their website.

I answered a lot of the usual questions about name, address etc. and thought I was at least NEAR the end.

Then I got 'System Error'. End of story.

Nobody called me back to help correct their errors or anything.

I concluded that the bank was completely unaware of the fact that I had failed to open an account.

So which is worse ? That there is a bug in the system OR that the bank is completely unaware of that bug.

Goodness knows how many OTHER people failed to open an account likewise.

The good news for me is that my knowledge of their incompetence tells me that NOT having an account with them is best for me.

Soon the most popular 'real' desktop will be the Linux desktop

"Move Windows 11 increasingly to the cloud"

As it happens, yesterday I created a Windows 11 VM on this iMac.

My 'main' version of Windows is on a HP PC.

I used the same Microsoft/Windows ID on both versions of Windows ( as proven by the fact that they both use the same mugshot of me ).

What surprised me was that several G worth of folders/files etc. were copied from the PC version to the iMac without my even thinking of asking.

Presumably that was done via OneDrive.

Serious question :

could it possibily be that folders supposedly on my own hardware are actually stored/maintained on OneDrive ?

Voyager 2 found! Deep Space Network hears it chattering in space

Control Room

One strange thing about the Voyagers, not previously mentioned here, is their control room.

Absolutely nothing like Houston Mission Control but rather an office by a shop in some California strip mall.

Or at least it was about 10 years ago when I saw a report about it.

Global network outage hits Microsoft: Azure, Teams, Outlook all down

Who uses outlook anyway ?

About a year ago I saw a van on the street that had the email address of the business painted on the side.

It said : @outlook.com.

I am a bit embarassed to note how slowly it took me to realise that that was a Microsoft address.

At least on vans, email addresses are mostly gmail nowadays and the outlook van was almost an historical curiosity.

India sets USB-C charging deadline for smartphones

Re: So much for "Brexit freedoms" eh ?

iPhones now has two kinds of ports : Lightning and USBC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)#:~:text=The%20Lightning%20connector%20is%20used,battery%20chargers%2C%20and%20other%20peripherals.

Lightning is Apple's own property which is reason enough it could NOT be imposed as a universal standard.

Still, since the UK is NOT imposing USBC, instead Apple will obviously provide UK iPhones with Lightning ports so the UK is ahead of the EU technically. Another Brexit triumph.

Arm founder says the UK has no chance of tech sovereignty

UK Technical Sovereignity ?

Of course the UK will have Technical Sovereignity.

Because they VOTED to have it via Brexit.

End of.

Is it a bird? Is it Microsoft Office? No, it's Onlyoffice: Version 7.2 released

Re: Ribbon

I have always assumed that the Ribbon is about Microsoft office ( small 'o' ) politics.

Their programmers are paid and even promoted depending on how many 'great new ideas' they can add to the ribbon.

Whether customers actually use all those brand new facilities is entirely secondary.

'Last man standing in the floppy disk business' reckons his company has 4 years left

Re: Speaking Of Ancient Storage Methods .....

VHS ?

On a Sony ?

As I recall Sony were famous for using Betamax ( the alternative and superior format to VHS )

Re: LTO tapes...

Still available for sale via that new fangled internet.

Speaking Of Ancient Storage Methods .....

Seriously, are there still companies that use reel-to-reel tapes for mass storage ?

NASA builds for keeps: Voyager mission still going after 45 years

Correction !

Only Voyager 2 went to Uranus and Neptune after visiting Jupiter and Saturn.

Voyager 1 only visited Jupiter and Saturn

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1

( Sorry. Do not know how to activate a hyperlink on The Reg. )

First-ever James Webb Space Telescope image revealed

JWST II ( ?! )

The vital question right now is exactly how far advanced we are in designing the successor to JWST ?

Strictly speaking, the technology it is using is now well out of date.

Obviously it will have to be approved formally by the collective intelligence here at The Reg.

NOBODY PRINT! Selfless hero saves typing pool from carbon catastrophe

Re: Hobnobs - invented for mans pleasure

Presumably the Reg was trying to help Americans by saying :

Hobnobs (a delightful oaty British biscuit, occasionally covered in chocolate)

Problem is that Americans are unfamiliar with the word 'biscuit' and say 'cookie' instead.

Start your engines: Windows 11 ready for broad deployment

Re: Don't give a monkey's about rounded corners but....

already become a struggle in Win 10 to keep the Start menu organised.

You can STILL get the Classic Start Menu ( and it even calls itselfr that ).

Copy Of Microsoft Office 2016 on This Laptop Was Stolen

When I did upgrade to Windows 11 which then insisted I use Office 365.

Fuck that for Software As A Subscription .

Couldn't get back to W10 fast enough.

Afraid of the big bad Linux desktop? Zorin 16.1 is here

Android Apps

As someone who does NOT have a smartphone, the first thing I ask about any Linux distro nowadays is :

How is it for handling software that allows access to Android apps ?

Almost there: James Webb Space Telescope frees its mirrors and prepares for insertion

Pounds ( No Stones)

FYI : Americans are unaware of the weight known in Britain as a stone.

eg. they would give the weight of somebody such as a boxer ENTIRELY in pounds.

( I tried, twice, to post this as a reply to the relevant post.

Each time Reg put it it in the WRONG place. )

Why should I pay for that security option? Hijacking only happens to planes

Dollar Foolish

Wow. A beancounter who is penny wise and dollar stoopid.

Whatever next ?

It's primed and full of fuel, the James Webb Space Telescope is ready to be packed up prior to launch

OS ?

A recent Mars rover was/is run by a highly technical version of Linux.

I was about to ask whether JWST was similar till I realised that JWST was probably designed BEFORE Linux was invented.

Anyway does it have an OS of its own ?

Microsoft 365 admins 'flooded' with bulk and bogus notifications for over an hour

Put More And More On Our Cloud

I'm last to learn, as per, but I was told recently that as of Excel 2016, Microsoft encourages users to put shared Excel files on OneDrive

( rather than share them in-house ).

How backward of users to think they should only use OneDrive when absolutely necessary.

Just look at all the problems you get when you keep your stuff geographically local.

Kremlin names the internet giants it will kidnap the Russian staff of if they don't play ball in future

So No Hacking From Russia

the regulator can take "coercive measures," such as removing the foreign businesses from Russian web search results, banning them from advertising or collecting data in the nation, and imposing other restrictions

So from Russia nobody would be able to hack into, say, Microsoft's cloud, 'cos they could not find it in the first place ?

Hypothetically of course. Russians would NEVER do that kind of thing.

Workday subscription revenue forecasts leave investors cold, wiping 9% off company value

SAAS Definition

You take it for granted that readers know what 'SAAS' means. For the record :

Software As A Subscription

Check your bits: What to do when Unix decides to make a hash of your bill printouts

Re: £ vs #

Just to be clear :

When an American says 'pound sign', the reference to is what Brits call a 'hash' ( ie. '#' )

Google fixes 'Chromebork' one-character code typo that prevented Chrome OS logins

WHAT form of Linux ?

Google advised users: to "powerwash" their Chrome OS devices back to factory settings; to rollback the Chrome OS device to a previous version via USB; or to remove the affected account and add the account back to the device. All three mitigations, however, clear local data on the device.

Or simply install a different distro of Linux entirely.

Windows 11: What we like and don't like about Microsoft's operating system so far

Windows 11 Installs CLOUD Office

( Make no apology for repeating what I said on the thread about

Office Not Frightening The Horses. )

Windows 11 installs a Cloud version of Office

overriding any version of Office already on the machine.

At least it is easy to recover Windows 10 and re-install Office 2016

Refreshing: An Office update that won't frighten the horses

Office Not Frightening The Horses ?

What Windows 11 does with Office frightens this particular horse.

Specifically, Windows 11 installs a cloud version of Office, completely overriding any version of Office that happens to be in the system already.

At least it is easy to restore Windows 10 and re-install Office 2016.

OK, you're paying data charges in the EU, but you can still roam free in, er, Iceland

Re: Roaming Charges ?

What amazes me is your sheer cowardice in not accusing anybody ( or anything ) in this context of being a red under the bed .

Re: Roaming Charges ?

slaps own face

Of course. That other Brexiteer seering insight that both the Financial Times AND The Economist are 'left wing media' .

Precisely the level of intelligence that actually DEFINEs Brexiteers.

Re: Roaming Charges ?

How honoured The Reg is to have Brexiteers flaunting the intelligence for which they are so famous.

And to think anybody regards them as 'Sore Winners'.

Roaming Charges ?

are exactly what everybody who enthusiastically voted for Brexit was specifically looking for.

The James Webb Space Telescope, a project dating back to the late 1900s, may launch this very century

The Point, Lagrange

JWST is going to be sent to a Lagrange Point which means it should stop dead in space if it gets there.

What I will want to know is EXACTLY how near to the Lagrange Point does JWST actually arrive ?

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview, attempts to defend labyrinth of hardware requirements

W11 as 'Phone' ?!

Apologies for being fick if I've missed it here but the question for me is :

will Windows 11 work in such a way that, in terms of using apps, it can replace a smartphone ?

Says someone who does not have a smartphone.

Norton dodges UK courts after telling Brit watchdog it will be nicer to consumers

Hot Deals With Your New Laptop.

Are there STILL ads for laptops that get tagged :

"For £50 You Also Get Norton Anti-virus" or somesuch ?

And is it the sods who say "Yes" who end up with automatically renewed subscriptions ?

When I see those ads my mental response is :

"So how much do you charge NOT to have Norton added ?"

Australian cops, FBI created backdoored chat app, told crims it was secure – then snooped on 9,000 users' plots

Plea In Mitigation

The app, called AN0M, was seeded into the organised crime community .

What kind of sentence reduction will these guys get on account of being so friendly as to be able to form a community among themselves ?

America to get world's 'most powerful' AI supercomputer to create the most detailed 3D map of the universe yet

Proving ( or Disproving ) Einstein

constructing the largest known three-dimensional simulation of the universe to date

So that will be better than

Today's Guardian story about Einstein being 'wrong'

Enough computer power to (dis)prove Einstein.

Can't get much more 'high powered' than that.

Hospitals cancel outpatient appointments as Irish health service struck by ransomware

Reg Webcast ?

Serious question :

The Reg has a webcast about ransomware on May 26 :

https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/12/learn_to_frustrate_modern_ransomware/

will everybody who attends this webcast learn how to avoid at least this particular kind of ransomware attack ?

Ex Netflix IT ops boss pocketed $500k+ in bribes before awarding millions in tech contracts

Where's The Movie ?

Thanks to the Reg for explaining clearly what happened here.

Seems there is more than enough interesting stuff to make a movie.

There must be SOME streaming service, at least, that would like to stream it to YOU ASAP.

Microsoft drops 64-bit OneDrive into the pool: Windows on ARM fans need not apply. As usual

Cloud Growth

Thing to remember is that the MicroCloud ( Azure ) is the fastest growing division in the company.

The question is :

when will it be the largest part of Microsoft , making Windows and Office look small ?

Beloved pixel pusher Paint prepares to join Notepad for updates from Microsoft Store

Paint Sudoku

I use Paint sometimes just to do Sudoku puzzles :

* Take picture of Sudoku puzzle

* Open with Paint

* Use Paint 'Text' options to put numbers where needed.

Ditto with Linux Pinta.