Posts by viscount

Artificial intelligence is a liability

I can imagine this author writing about those "new-fangled automobiles" and how they would drive the horse-breeding industry out of business.

Too big to live, too loved to die: Big Tech's billion dollar curse of the free

If Google get really worried about the cost of running Gmail (and I not convinced that they will) then they can reduce the free storage limit and charge a subscription fee for those who use it regularly enough to build a large inbox.

Those upset by that change would take their email elsewhere, leaving a smaller user base of people split between a large number who hardly use it (and so have a nominal cost to serve) and a power user group who are paying anyway.

Before I agree to let your app track me everywhere, I want something 'special' in return (winks)…

I use Google services a lot, and I am consistently impressed with their bad ad targeting. Crypto trading sir? Definitely not. Pointless nutritional supplements? Definitely not. Would you like to buy ANOTHER air conditioner? Definitely not.

Honestly do not understand how they make money.

Chocolate beer barred from sale after child mistakes it for chocolate milk

I blame the parents.

Workday shares slide following claims Amazon ditched company-wide HR system

Re: I loathe Workday

Could be worse: could be SAP.

What you need to know about Microsoft Windows 11: It will run Android apps

Re: Throwing Jerry Nixon under the bus...

Interesting how little they have said about new version cycles at all before this. If you were buying into a strategic OS wouldn't the update/upgrade strategy be a key question?

I don't really get that - most of their money comes from corporate subscriptions and they hate new major versions.

Has MS explained why Windows 11 exists at all given they clearly said Windows 10 was the final release? The real reason may be marketing, but what is the excuse? Corporate customers are not going to be thrilled with another major Windows version.

Salesforce to face trial after software used by Backpage 'to track sex traffickers, pimps, johns on social media'

"Anonymous plaintiffs" seems weird. Are they underage?

Facebook finally finds something it thinks is truly objectionable and needs to be taken offline: Apple

What no "Cupertino idiot-tax"? What is going on at the Reg?

British Airways fined £20m for Magecart hack that exposed 400k folks' credit card details to crooks

Re: Unfortunately

That does seems strange: it means the GBP 20m penalty is higher than their permitted maximum of EUR 20m.

They were saving the CVV too which seems like a basic error. No idea why.

Hey is trying a new take on email – but maker complains of 'outrageous' demands after Apple rejects iOS app

Logic?

The key element for me is this quote from Apple.

"We are not going to talk about other apps."

Obviously you can use Office365 etc. on Apple and they do not make you buy it via them, whether consumer or corporate. So why lock out Hey like this? What distinction are they actually trying to make?

What do you call megabucks Microsoft? No really, it's not a joke. El Reg needs you

Shub-Niggurath

Browse mode: We're not goofing off on the Sidebar of Shame and online shopping sites, says UK's Ministry of Defence

Anyone else check out msm.com just to be sure?

I was disappointed.

Chrome deploys deep-linking tech in latest browser build despite privacy concerns

This does not sound right to me in DNS terms.

Also if a company really wants to snoop its own portal it does not need a backdoor.

You're flowing it wrong: Bad network route between Microsoft, Apple blamed for Azure, O365 MFA outage

Not clear to me why a link to Apple being down stops MFA for other Office folks.

Cash carousel spun between Filetek and Autonomy, Lynch employee tells court

The money was just resting in my account.

Google's reCAPTCHA favors – you guessed it – Google: Duh, only a bot would refuse to sign into the Chocolate Factory

Re: I despise CRAPTCHA

Have you considered that you may not be a human?

Silent Merc, holy e-car... What is that terrible sound?

My own experience as a pedestrian is that it is surprising how loud electric cars are. Their tyre noise seems substantial except at crawl speed. A Tesla going past at 30mph seems as loud as a petrol car.

Re: Dumber and Dumber

Runners don't usually weigh 2 tonnes.

Eggheads want YOU to name Jupiter's five newly found moons ‒ and yeah, not so fast with Moony McMoonface

Re: Thinking small

Only moons with round corners.

National Enquirer's big Pecker tried to shaft me – and I wouldn't give him an inch, says Jeff Bezos after dick pic leak threat

From the way those emails are written, this is clearly routine behaviour for AMI. That means there will be lots more to come from other victims. Hope it takes them down.

No more Windows build strings for you: BuildFeed has turned off the lights

Can someone decode this article because I don't get it. What would MS do to force a site with a list of build numbers to close? What are "internal pressures"? It makes no sense.

Mark Zuckerberg did everything in his power to avoid Facebook becoming the next MySpace – but forgot one crucial detail…

Re: "one critical detail: no one likes a liar"

I don't think so - he was a known liar even when elected. I think his unpopular is due to flaws other than the lying.

"one critical detail: no one likes a liar"

I am not sure this is true. Current political reality in the US suggests otherwise.

Accenture in doghouse after NHSmail mass outage cuts off 1m+ UK health staff

"Accenture is reportedly facing major financial penalties"

I seriously doubt that.

SQLite creator crucified after code of conduct warns devs to love God, and not kill, commit adultery, steal, curse...

I'm on board with most of it but this could be a challenge:

"Be not drowsy."

Silent running: Computer sounds are so '90s

I am always impressed with how loud and distracting a "silent" vibrate mode can be when a phone is on a table or desk.

GDPR stands for Google Doing Positively, Regardless. Webpage trackers down in Europe – except Big G's

Re: Google is headed for a Republican beatdown

You misunderstand the GOP mindset. The GOP is always in favour of _big_ business, regardless of domain and political view. So for example, conservatives rail against the Hollywood libs, but GOP administrations will always do everything they can to protect their IP at home and abroad.

This may seem contradictory. It is not as long as you understand the first principle of the GOP is to support big business. The actual business is of secondary importance. So expect Google to get a very easy ride indeed.

Plusnet customers peeped others' deets during system upgrade

As a Plusnet customer: I laugh at the idea that a hacker can make sense of my bills. I can't.

Don't let Google dox me on Lumen Database, nameless man begs

"Dressed in mismatched jacket and trousers".

If El Reg is now the fashion police I have a lot of crimes to report from those around me.

Unpicking the Pixel puzzle: Why Google is struggling to impress

"The returns procedure is notorious."

That's surprising - I may have been lucky but when my Pixel broke I called Google and had a new phone the next day.

Revealed: El Reg blew lid off Meltdown CPU bug before Intel told US govt – and how bitter tech rivals teamed up

TLA

Honest (rather than sarcastic question): does anyone think that some arm of Uncle Sam did not know about such a vulnerability when there were so many US companies working on fixing it?

On Android, US antitrust can go where nervous EU fears to tread

This article posits that a pro-corporate Republican administration will suddenly come down on big tech. That is a basic misread of America.

Tim? Larry? We need to talk about smartphones and privacy

If I was Quartz I would quickly write that story.

Ex-US pres Bill Clinton has written a cyber-attack pulp thriller. With James Patterson. Really

Okay, I have not read the book but how does POTUS possibly go "undercover"?

Pentagon in uproar: 'China's lasers' make US pilots shake in Djibouti

Most likely random personnel on the Chinese base have some laser pointers and feel like annoying some Americans.

Press F to pay respects to the Windows 10 April Update casualties

Re: "Upgrading users should be able to ignore the viewer as before."

"Not you hit F1, and an almost random page opens in a browser with very little, if any, useful information."

This. I remember when MS help was awesome - full, clear and context sensitive in Excel for example. Now you get random links to websites that often don't exist anymore, along with lots of worse than useless "community content".

Android P will hear no evil, see no evil, support evil notches

Re: Pistachio

If it's not Pecan Pie I'm switching to Apple.

Yorkshire cops have begun using on-the-spot fingerprint scanners

"If you think it should be legal to refuse to identify yourself to a representative of the law..."

Well, yes it is legal (and should remain so). What is your argument for changing that situation?

Laser sauce, cheat code, jam seshs: The Waymo vs Uber trial kicks off

'He will "take the fifth"'

This is civil case, so taking the fifth means he is avoiding incriminating himself and preventing a future criminal action. In a civil case the jury are allowed to take an adverse view of that action, so he could blow Uber out of the water.

Job ad for designer proves its point with MS Paint shocker

Courtesy of a graphic design colleague:

Q: 'How many graphic designers does it take to change a lightbulb?'

A: Graphic designer: 'None! I'm not changing a f****ing thing'

HMS Queen Elizabeth has sprung a leak and everyone's all a-tizzy

Re: "shaft gland packing"

More like the Navy Lark with Leslie Philips:

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

Re: "shaft gland packing"

Is it the HMS Double Entendre?

Netflix mulls using AI to craft personalized movie trailers for viewers

I use Netflix and if they are using AI I wish they would use it to improve recommendations. They have some odd ideas about what I might like.

Google's phone woes: The Pixel and the damage done

Whilst I agree with much of the article, Google support has been good to me. I bought a Pixel 1, it went wrong and Google had a new phone to me in about two days. The operation seemed very slick, and it's a very good phone with frequent updates.

No view on the Pixel 2 though.

Google Play Protect is 'dead last' at fingering malware on Android

Re: Ahn Lab coming first ...

Do you also think the aardvark is the best animal?

OpenAI bot bursts into the ring, humiliates top Dota 2 pro gamer in 'scary' one-on-one bout

That's not a knife.

Browser trust test: Would you let Chrome block ads? Or Firefox share and encrypt files?

The vast majority of users do not currently use ad-blockers. So this is a smart move by Google. They are hoping to head of the growth of the blockers by stripping out the massively irritating ads but leaving the fairly innocuous ones. That is where Google started remember - small simple ads on search results.

It may or may not work, but its an interesting move to try it, especially for mobile.