Posts by Doctor Syntax

You'll never guess who's been exploiting the ManageEngine service to steal passwords

Online password services exploited? Really?

<Gets up off of floor after being struck by a passing feather>

Pulling down a partition or knocking through a door does not necessarily make for a properly connected workspace

Re: Network woes

"That was resolved with a large drill cutting a hole through the wall"

A better resolution would have been to quote the signed off statement that the room would only ever be used for filing cabinets.

"The outlet in the boss's office was still live:"

i hope this wasn't discovered the hard way.

That hertz.

Truckload of GPUs stolen on their way out of San Francisco

Re: But how would the buyer know?

the warranties may have been invalidated but the smart thing would be to let the registration page take the details as normal but then follow those up to trace the distribution network.

NASA advised to study up on what open source, free software, and permissive licenses actually mean

Re: What free means

GPL licences are certainly not untrammelled and quite deliberately so.

One of the links ( https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?format=multiple&id=494520 ) dealt specifically with NASA attempting to release code in a way which they presumably intended to be open but with wording which just didn't fit any existing OSS environment. Looking at the licence quoted in the bug report it seems possible that a BSD-style licence might have met their intentions.

Re: BSD vs GPL

The essence of a BSD licence is that if the code is distributed in source or binary form the copyright notice be distributed with it - included in the source in the first case. The notice also includes the fullest possible disclaimers. That's not a release of copyright restrictions but it is a fairly minimal restriction.

Up to a point. But the BSD licence, for instance, doesn't meet the FSF's definition of the FOSS subset of OSS (which is the definition in the Haiducek et al paper that the article's about). However the supporters of BSD and similar ("permissive") licences will point out that FSF's definition of "free" is encumbered. They define a diferent subset of FOSS. These groups have viewpoints which are, if not exactly orthogonal, looking at freedom from different angles.

What's more the OSS definition isn't enshrined in statute or common law. The nearest it would get to becoming a legal requirement would be inclusion in contracts if required.

Professionally I've come across code which I could view (and even fed back the results of bug-hunting to its creators) but which was still proprietary and not even the whole of the application. I'd have to count that as open, at least to inspection, although in no way would I include it as open in FOSS, OSS, permissive or public domain contexts.

It seems that NASA has the old Github problem of people wishing to "publish" code without realising that "publication" has unavoidable legal requirements. Unless you actually add a licence to your "public" announcements your material is bound by default copyright restrictions.

Re: What free means

"costless, priceless, untrammelled"

Which?

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

/. picked up this. One comment there was along the lines of there being nothing as expensive as cheap engineers. There is; MBAs at any price.

Re: Red Hat turns to running the company by spreadsheet

Martin is probably the only last survivor of his team.

Re: A plan for Red Hat...

Really good things never happen. However a more feasible possibility is that RH's agenda no longer dominates and we get back to something more Unix-like.

I'm looking forward to seeing RHEL becoming a clone of Rocky or Alma Linux.

Reg reader returns Samsung TV after finding giant ads splattered everywhere

Bought a Philips non-smart TV last year. It has an internet connection and is supposed to be able to get Freeview catchup. It's so dumb not even that works. We haven't turned it on for a few months so maybe there's been a S/W update but I'm not holding my breath.

Labour Party supplier ransomware attack: Who holds ex-members' data and on what legal basis?

Re: The Other Lot

"I wonder when my data will go walkies."

We don't know exactly what data was involved. If it included their copy of the electoral roll it may have gone walkies already.

Maybe the firm has an Islington office.

Say what you see: Four-letter fun on a late-night support call

Re: How to deal with calls

"funny on screen"

Try telling it down the pub, then.

Re: How to deal with calls

"I know the user you describe. The one who comes up with all kinds of random technical words they know and tries to jam then into the description."

Management.

Expired cert breaks Windows 11 snipping tool, emoji panel, S Mode features, other stuff

Re: Part of the OS

"The certificates are for testing the signatures inside executables."

OTOH the executable is the same as it was last week. The problem isn't the executable. It's not even certification. It's the expiry date of the certificate. The solution is to either ensure the expiry date is far enough ahead of expected lifetime when the executable's published or have a sufficiently robust system for enabling update to be installed well in advance and also take into account those systems that are not and will not be connected to the internet.

Different certs with different expiry dates. It's a certificate management problem. If the certs are due to expire you need to ship updates in good time. It could happen to any product that takes its eye off the ball. Being a new OS is no excuse.

Microsoft: Many workers are stuck on old computers and should probably upgrade

Re: Conclusion: MS has a lot of laptops & desktops that are unable to run W11.

Oh no they're not.

They remember the days, long before .docx and its friends, when they could regularly upsell you new versions of Office. Not because you needed a new version to write stuff, of course. Because anyone who'd updated sent you files your own copy couldn't read.

They want to get back to the old days when they could force you to buy a licence you don't want. And with Windows that licence means buying a new machine if the old one can't update. The H/W vendors, surprise, surprise, aren't objecting to this.

If there's any stupidity involved it's launching this in the midst of a chip shortage throttling H/W production.

"Why change it if it is good enough?"

Because Microsoft want to sell you a new Windows licence.

Re: a new device "would increase their motivation."

I think somebody didn't know how to spell "frustration". It's the only logical explanation.

My experience is long out of date but the general principle was that a freelancer supporting the customer's kit perforce worked on the customer's kit. You wouldn't expect a mechanic to service his own car instead of yours, would you?

"an OS that gets in your face instead of letting you actually get work done"

This. And the thing that's most effective at getting in your face is change for change's sake.

On Linux I can take an hour or so after a new install to tweak things to my chosen standards and then carry on with business as usual. The idea of being not only forced into the vendors One True UI is bad enough but having that changed every few years is appalling. By some judicious choice of Linux distro I can cruise along with underpinnings that reflect nearly 40 years experience of Unix and Unix-like systems and a GUI with a classic look and behaviour that's just subtly evolved over the last 20 years or so. It's driven by what I want to use it for, not a revolving door or UX "experts" or a marketing need to pimp the UI every few years.

Re: Or

"manipulation to persuade businesses to buy better hardware, because they can't implement an operating system that is efficient."

Another explanation is that new hardware means new Windows licences.

The two are far from mutually exclusive. In fact synergistic is probably nearer the mark.

"nearly nine out of 10 employees would actually take a cut in pay if they could choose their own work device."

What with ransomware and the like this seems a reasonable prediction. Was that what was meant?

"they expect to be given efficient devices, not something that just about gets the job done, or slows them down as a result.""

So delete PowerPoint.

There, that wasn't so hard, was it? South Korea makes Google allow rival payment systems in Play store apps

Re: Oh, please fo f**k off Google...

"putting themselves at risk."

But who was the "themselves" he was thinking of?

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

"Just as happened with HPE Enterprise Services, it is hoped that Kyndryl flying the IBM nest will indicate to customers they don’t need to buy only IBM stuff from Kyndryl."

Does this help IBM? Did it help HP?

Waterfox: A Firefox fork that could teach Mozilla a lesson

Re: Open source closed devs

"Ordinary users want something that does what they need,"

So do I. In my case it's mostly local history research nowadays. I tend to have a lot of documents to hand. My Historical Documents folder alone is 10.8G with 783 files in 63 sub-folders and there are usually a good number of files and folders of work in progress on the desktop. An app-based approach isn't going to cut it - you can't navigate that lot with the Recent files... menu. So I use KDE which allows me control over layout of the desktop.

OTOH someone who wants a UI closer to that of their mobile would prefer Ubuntu's Unity desktop. I'd find it completely unusable.

SWMBO also has KDE but the few apps she uses are links on the desktop. It also has NextCloud client sitting there quietly synchronising a folder with my laptop so I can assemble her patchwork notes PDFs for her to email to her class. This works for her.

A couple of other relatives have Zorin which seems a good all-rounder for general users for a browser, office, PDF viewing, etc.

Re: Open source closed devs

"The problem you are describing, and pretty well I have to say, is the curse of too many choices."

In what way is this a curse compared to the walled garden binary choice: like it or lump it?

Re: root is the new Administrator

"Latest" sounds like a human assumption which still needs to be verified by the software.

In this case "latest" was the current version, newly downloaded, installed and run. The possible gap for it to have been outdated was minutes. The conclusion has to be that the update checker was comparing against the wrong thing.

Re: Open source closed devs

How to miss the point in one easy lesson.

Especially if each fork has a different subset of likes and dislikes.

If I have a particular combination of likes and dislikes - I have a choice of alternatives

This or that site doesn't work well with this or that browser - I have a choice of alternatives

And then we have Linux.....

I don't want anybody pottering about with init - I have a choice of alternatives

I don't like Gnome - I have a choice of alternatives

I don't like KDE - I have a choice of alternatives

I don't like apt I have a choice of alternatives

I don't want bleeding edge - I have a choice of alternatives

I do want bleeding edge - I have a choice of alternatives

I have both Waterfox & Palemoon installed. Waterfox has one annoying characteristic. Every time it's started it complains about not being able to update. Of course it can't, I'm not running it as root. The really annoying thing was that I switched to the latest version of Classic and it still complained. I can only assume it was trying to upgrade to the mainstream version which was presumably more recent. I very seldom use it, preferring Palemoon as my second string browser, Seamonkey being my first.

22-year-old Brit accused of Twitter SIM-swap heists charged with $784k cryptocurrency theft

Re: Sim-swapping

AFAICS the fraudster's benefit of the SIM swap is access to the 2FA number for that part of banking security theatre. However does it help that you don't have a social media account? Have you got a shadow FB account based on what's been siphoned out of the contacts files of people who have your phone number(s)?

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

Re: Utterly depressing

"Frankly, none of you have the right to force medical treatment on anyone. It's down to personal choice."

You're quite right. However none of you have the right to go round infecting people with your viruses. So if you choose to stay unvaccinated, just stay at home. If this costs you your job, remember it was your choice.

Re: The medical powerhouse that is CISCO...

He's not too strong on biology either.

Re: The medical powerhouse that is CISCO...

And if you suffer enough it lasts for ever. What a pity you're not around to enjoy it.

Re: Get rid of the religious exemption.

Tested and proven or you just had a cold?

If you did have it, to how many did you pass it on, directly or indirectly and how many of those died?

Re: Get rid of the religious exemption.

Upvote for the first comment but I'm not sure about the 2nd. A lot of the spreading in the "Spanish Flu" was in the armies during WWI before 1919.

What will the factory of the future look like? Let's start with Intel, Red Hat, and 5G

If, as Intel suggest, you've cut off the data flow as irrelevant you won't have the history anyway. If you do need the sensor later, fit it then when you know what it is rather than double guessing now. The best design decisions are those made when you know what's needed.

Locked up: UK's Labour Party data 'rendered inaccessible' on third-party systems after cyber attack

PR speak

Sophisticated.

Translation: clever than us. A low bar.

BlackMatter ransomware gang says it's disbanding – again – after Ukraine arrests

It seems like there's a good supply of chains.

Samsung releases pair of jeans that can't do anything except cover your legs and hold a Galaxy Z Flip 3

Re: "Who needs big pockets?"

Yup. I alternately get "why do you have so much stuff in your pockets" (house and both car keys, wallet, loose change, almost redundant comb and hankie) and "just feel the weight of this bag".

Re: Pocket Phrendly Phablets?

Your trousers convert into a Kiwi?

"design jeans that shake up the pocket norm"

Are you allowed to do that in public?

I suppose the jeans cover those as well.

"dropping the price ... and positioning them as ...fashion statements"

Shirley positioning them as fashion statements would require raising the price.