Posts by bombastic bob

Intel didn't tell CERTS, govs, about Meltdown and Spectre because they couldn't help fix it

Re: Nobody has yet

"Explained the benefit of revealing the fault as soon as it was discovered."

Here's the alternate universe timeline that I think should have happened:

1. Intel and AMD announce that they have discovered some flaws in their CPU design that could lead to "side channel' attacks, something that is difficult to anticipate, and NOT disclose the details.

2. Intel and AMD work out fixes for this problem, and share 'mitigations' with all operating system vendors.

3. Intel and AMD release new CPUs that are designed NOT to have these flaws, and provide well tested working microcode for older systems.

4. After all of the fixes are in place, the details are released so people understand what happened.

This would result in Intel and AMD looking VERY good. Initially they get a small hit, but being THAT HONEST about the cock-up will eventually turn around to help them. And NOT disclosing the details helps prevent 0-days from emerging.

The thing about Meltdown and Spectre is that it's not intuitively obvious since they're side-channel attacks [for the most part]. So exploiting them without a really good explanation of what the flaw is would be "hard to guess", a sort of 'security by obscurity' that can last long enough to patch it.

So if Intel and AMD had simply bitten the bullet and and admitted the existence of the flaw the moment it was discovered, they MIGHT have INCREASED THEIR SALES overall as a direct result, as people replace old hardware [which was previously considered 'good enough'] to avoid any slowdowns or potential un-patched vulnerabilities.

In any case, this "alternate universe" scenario didn't happen. That made the original cock-up WORSE.

Re: Note that they didn't bother with open source operating systems

Well, according to the article, the 'insiders' comprised "Google, AMD, Arm, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft."

Apple has at least SOME connection with FreeBSD, but there's no motive to let any of the BSD engineers know about something in the KERNEL.

And, there MAY be a 'profit motive' in which "ONLY THEY" have fixes available, so if you don't want a vulnerable system, you "go to them" [specifically Micro-shaft and Apple].

Had IBM been involved, I think we'd have seen more efforts in Linux, and being open source, it would 'trickle' into the BSD's pretty quickly.

The better path is to be as open about this problem as possible. "We F'd up" is a better path than scrambling for the hills and covering your tracks.

Google reveals Edge bug that Microsoft has had trouble fixing

Re: One should note, that it was Microsoft who wrote this bug

"How much did you pay for your copy of Edge? How much did you pay MS to patch it?"

indirect payment: you have to run Win-10-nic to be able to run Edge.

You have to endure the slurp, tracking, and ads jammed up your as down your throat, "the Metro" [because We know better how You need to use your computer], and FORCED UPDATES [even if they brick, it's better than NOT accepting the "new, shiny", getting your custom settings reset periodically, and wasting INFINITE BANDWIDTH and YOUR time waiting for infinite updates to load, install, and potentially BRICK *your* computer]. THAT is "payment" (more than) *ENOUGH*.

Re: They are pushing...

"I can't work with browsers that change daily and whose features we can't be sure of, and which version our customers have is uncertain"

right, the constant "feature creep" being jammed up everyone's as down everyone's throat, instead of WORKING! ON! RELIABILITY! AND! SECURITY! is a continuous problem with ALL of the browser makers, as far as I'm concerned.

If I like the old one, I should be able to keep it. Re-re-re-re-re-re-re-doing the interface just PISSES OFF THE END USERS. What are these _IDIOT_ _CHILDREN_ thinking?

OK I already know...

a) It's OUR turn now

b) Change is ALWAYS better

c) Old fuddy-duddy stick-in-the-muds will JUST! HAVE! TO! GET! ON! BOARD! with this "new, shiny"

d) It's "Modern"

e) You can re-learn it in NO time!

f) WE like what WE did, so EMBRACE it and SHUT THE HELL UP (it's for YOUR own good!)

etc.

arrogant children, running the show without the real experience and skills to do the thing properly, building on the works of others by SMASHING IT TO HELL FIRST, then re-re-re-writing it THEIR way, and THEN jamming it up everyone else's a down everyone else's throats, and criticizing everyone who asks for some Astro Gl wants to wash it down with some liquid, to make the process easier.

Re: JS

"Modern Apps"

every time I hear (or see) the word 'Modern' associated with Win-10-nic and 'Apps' I have to choke back my bile and then RUN to the toilet so I can let loose my technicolor frustration at the porcelain god, Ralph.

"In summary, Google is doing the right thing."

I tend to agree. A while back, maybe a decade or so ago, there was this security research company in France that I can't recall who they were... at any rate, they used to give 30 days to get a bug patched [after they announced it] before they'd release the details about it, with the assumption that it would drive Micro-shaft (and others) to fixing the problem. OCCASIONALLY, at their discretion, they'd extend the time limit.

So I'd say Google is basically doing the SAME THING. Good. It helps drive the solution.

/me points out that, with no stress, with no urgency, and maybe even with no catastrophe, there's no evolution. The theory is that you need "a stresser" to drive a species improvement and produce a viable gene pool with "the thing" that helps to ensure survival. Otherwise, a viable population with a positive mutation/change/epigenetic-gene-change might not even be possible.

In the case of software, I'd say it's right on, that without some kind of STRESSER, we'll just be subjected to the same kinds of bloated crapware we've seen way too much lately.

So GO! GOOGLE! and *STRESS* Micro-shaft into fixing their browser!

Re: Another Viewpoint

"MS were also, like everybody else in the industry, very busy with Meltdown and Spectre"

Agile 'Scrum' meetings, B.S. sessions, and Beer o' clock at 3PM

"during that 90 day period."

fixed it for ya

Seriously, though, I think their most experienced people left at around the Windows "Ape" time period, when everything started to go downhill, and internal policies were driving the good people away.

So after Win-10-nic and firing all of their testing people [relying instead on CUSTOMERS to beta test their crapware as it's shoved down the pipe onto every Win-10-nic machine - oops, we did it again! So sorry!], they now have a bunch of inexperienced _CHILDREN_ doing most of the work. No doubt they have very good self-esteem and 'team attitude', actual skills and experience not being a major factor in hiring them.

Would they had someone like ME there, who'd be using profanity for 10 minutes after starting a code dive, then pop up and say "who the HELL wrote THIS crap! Dammit, I need some @#$%)((@#$* coffee and maybe a stiff belt o' something that's more than 90 proof"

It would inevitably be some snowflake needing a safe space that was responsible for this complete cock-up, and having some 50-something bearded guy with big shoulders and a loud voice having a one-way discussion with you (think drill sergeant) about the stupidity of unchecked buffers and re-used pointers and other "newbie" kinds of mistakes, using military terms/phrases like "What is your major malfunction, numbnuts?" and hacker terms like "well, rape me hard with 19 feet of curari tipped wrought iron fence and no lubricant" and other things that are too profane to even be posted in an El Reg comment... and then I fix it all myself in 1/4 of the time some "team" could do it in, if I didn't simply rage-quit over the lame and stupid and complete bull-crappery.

yeah, they wouldn't want ME there, even IF I got things accomplished in record time with a shoestring budget. Heh.

(ok I'm not THAT bad...)

US state legal supremos show lots of love for proposed CLOUD Act (a law to snoop on citizens' info stored abroad)

Re: Don't give in to the unethical and immoral imperial power, the United States

I think you should've used the 'black helicopter' icon.

I have a suggestion: do not store anything in the cloud, and make sure you are well aware that anything that ends up on "teh intarwebs" can be snooped, snarfed, collected, "meta-data'd", and potentially submitted as evidence, regardless of where in the world it's stored, and hopefully NOT by criminals [though it's more likely to be the case].

icon, because, should've been there already.

Re: America Fuck Yeah

"what will do then US Govt?"

hopefully, REAL police work. Not lazy 'metadata' searches, but the kind that can take a while and usually involves irrefutable evidence collected legally without violating the rights of U.S. citizens [or any international agreements with respect to non-citizens]. THAT is the way it is SUPPOSED to be done.

but yeah, it sounds like the cops are lazy, doesn't it?

"You're a failed state America, face it"

No, not until the point where "they" get their way while the sheeple watch (or fail to watch) without interest. That's really not happening, at least not yet. [what concerns ME is when 'due process' is perverted for the same kinds of reasons, and it seems THAT HAPPENED somewhat recently, from top levels of the FBI, via the FISA court].

Re: Wow.... just... wow!

"How do you say 'Fuck Off' in American?"

You just did. heh.

Re: Wow.... just... wow!

"How long would a person spend in jail before law enforcement was satisfied you are correct"

There are limits on how long you can be held for contempt of court (though it may not be apparent). if you are held without bail (and that requires a hearing before a judge to have that happen) then you can be held until you get a not guilty verdict. but that's not likely with a contempt hearing first.

The length of time for being held for contempt would vary based on the jurisdiction. However, it's theoretically possible it could be "forever" if you keep being in contempt.

An example:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123137263059962659

The jail stops the moment you submit to the court's authority. It would take some pretty large gonads to stay in jail for YEARS like that, based entirely on principle.

It's what can happen in a society that's ruled by law. I guess you could ask a similar question in the UK, how long will it take before Julian Assange can 'walk free' in the streets of London? Exactly.

Re: Wow.... just... wow!

" What's to stop the US subpoenaing data held on a UK campus?"

Uh, "due process" ?

Actually there's an existing way to manage that: simply own controlling interest in a U.S. based company that's a separate entity from you. Sometimes they call that a "shell corporation". So what. Corporations have a level of legal protection built into them [which is why they exist, really].

Re: Wow.... just... wow!

"Uncle Sam can Go Shoulder deep into your data and pull anything out he wants."

I think there is going to be a REAL legal process involved, or that's how it should be written. 'Due Process'. Yeah, I know the FISA court is supposed to be that, too, and we have a current investigation going on AGAINST THE FBI (by Congress) regarding THAT kind of abuse, and so there must be "oversight" to make sure the abuses do NOT happen.

I'm not sure what would change if the FBI were to go before an Irish judge in the Microsoft case (where they try and make themselves immune to an existing subpoena) and why the FBI hadn't already done that. But whatever.

What this should NEVER become: a license to conduct a "fishing expedition" to violate the privacy of anyone that has any kind of data stored on a U.S. company's computers, regardless of the physical location. I don't think this is going to happen.

What U.S. based companies should do: make sure the data is stored ENCRYPTED, the key belongs to the client, the company doesn't have access to the key [when this is possible], and it's only kept for as long as necessary [and purged after that].

What users are probably going to have to do: don't keep data "in the cloud" for longer than is necessary.

I think if I were using gmail or hotmail with IMAP I'd be moving all of the archived e-mail into LOCAL ONLY storage about now... [shouldn't be too hard to do that, either]. make sure 'sent items' is moved locally, too.

Who wanted a future in which AI can copy your voice and say things you never uttered? Who?!

Re: As far as I am concerned

"the genie however is out of the bottle"

celebrity impersonations already exist. I wonder if the tech could EVER compete...

There's that one Futurama episode when the prof's young clone built a voice impersonator using his father's voice - "Good news everyone! I'm a horse's butt" (episode 'The Route of All Evil' as far as I can tell)

And someone like Ferris Bueller could use this kind of tech to call in sick, and sound a lot more convincing.

All of the examples of Siri and Alexa that I've heard sound like robots (and vocaloids, too, unfortunately). Watson seems less so, but still 'robotish'. you can just "tell".

So I'd guess that impersonation tech may have the same kind of flaw for YEARS, maybe even DECADES, when "legit" tech can't even get it right. Genie out of the bottle? yeah, but he's a robot-sounding genie.

Windows slithers on to Arm, legless?

Re: Microsoft has an identity crisis.

"Also, a case of ADHD"

~groan~

I'll avoid acting like an easily offended snowflake and simply state that, like "Ass-burgers", AD[H]D (aka non-linear mindedness) is actually an ADVANTAGE for engineers, artists, musicians, and other 'creative' types. Thom Hartman's "Hunter/Farmer" model explains it pretty well.

no downvote from me, either. just a groan. your ignorance is forgiven.

Re: "If done properly, a C / C++ developer doesn't even need to know"

"highly optimized code targeting specific processor"

in the open source world, this is often dealt with by proper software design and the use of 'autotools' (aka the 'configure' script) when compiling.

I guess this might be a problem if there are too many variations in the ARM world, though. you'd need a different binary for every architecture permutation. Given how floating point might be implemented/emulated on the different ARM platforms, this is NOT unrealistic.

Re: 68000

doesn't the 68k have 16k "pseudo-segments" due to jump limits (or something similar)? I remember dealing with that while experimenting with PalmOS.

once we got 32-bit mode on x86, those problems disappeared. 68k never really overcame that, as far as I know.

Re: Sinofsky is a dick

not just Sinofsky at fault here. THIS person too:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larson-Green

inventor of "the ribbon" "the metro" and other horrible things.

Re: Satnad remains the problem

"What he's doing is moving to a subscription model"

and doing everything possible to leverage everyone into it.

Micro-shaft's attitude towards their customers is their biggest problem. SatNad would be #2. Pun intentional.

Re: .Net

"then .Net is the obvious answer."

that was a joke, right? (you forgot the 'joke alert' icon)

/me won't get trolled into ranting on '.Not' yet one more time, today

Re: Going from 32 to 64 bit was so simple nobody really noticed it happened

oh, one more thing I just found out.

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86-64#Architectural_features

apparently in 64-bit mode (which they call "long" mode) you can have 16-bit protected mode processes (which actually surprises me quite a bit). However, you can't have 'real mode' nor 'virtual 8086' mode. Interesting.

So maybe dumping WOW16 had something to do with legacy 16-bit applications and 64-bitness i the kernel. Because, in theory, a "well behaved" 16-bit application SHOULD be possible to run in 64-bit mode...

Re: Going from 32 to 64 bit was so simple nobody really noticed it happened

WOW16 can't work in x64 because it doesn't have 16-bit support. that's just the way the architecture is.

NTVDM - there's no Virtual 8086 mode any more on x64. hence, can't have that, either.

As I recall, in 32-bit mode, a code selector is marked as 'USE16' or 'USE32' with a bit. I haven't looked, but I suspect in 64-bit mode, it switches between 'USE32' and 'USE64' in a similar way. To understand how the GDT and LDT work, you can start HERE:

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

(it's incomplete and oversimplified but you'll get the 'gist' and there are links to better resources)

I used to play with selectors and call gates and stuff like that "back in the day", even wrote a program for Win 3.x and '9x that would dig into the guts of the 'virtual DOS' (aka VxD) stuff and even make calls into the kernel via the interface. You could find out useful stuff about running processes, figure out what VxD's were loaded, dump the global and local descriptor tables, read the page tables, stuff like that, by playing with "all that" and then list it conveniently in a simple Windows application. But naturally it had to be a 16-bit application to do it's magic, and only worked with '9x and 3.x (because they had VxDs).

Re: "However it is really difficult for them to change"

"Such as Android Studio."

well if you're emulating ARM on ARM, maybe it will RUN FASTER now? but yeah it probably means a re-write of the ARM emulation. You should expect any kind of virtualization and/or emulation to be like that. It's probably a lot of assembly code, and uses virtualization registers and other hardware-specific stuff.

Guess who else Spectre is haunting? Yes, it's AMD. Four class-action CPU flaw lawsuits filed

Re: It's odd...

I wish I understood Spectre better so I could make a snarky comment about it, but from what I can tell, it's hard to see how branch prediction COULD have been leveraged "that way" in the first place, ya know?

So maybe it was just "great minds thought alike" only they all missed something, too...

Careful with the 'virtual hugs' says new FreeBSD Code of Conduct

Re: As an insider...

"Personally, I do not give a rats ass about the so-called code of conduct. I will continue doing what I am doing which has worked for me for years: Treat people with respect until you have a reason not to. To quote one forum member 'If a Joe wants to be called Jane, then call him Jane.' Simple common sense."

thanks for that. I'm encouraged that sanity and common sense still exist in the project, despite the (apparent) attempt at some kind of takeover by a handful of SJW's.

In the SJW world, Jane wouldn't say a thing about being called 'Joe'. Jane would just GET YOU BANNED to SILENCE you, instead... unless Jane liked you, in which case it would never matter. [like on Micro-shaft's forums - I! KID! YOU! NOT! - *THESE* are the kinds of immature head-games these manipulative idiots play! I guess being 'queen bee' in High School wasn't enough]

We need more projects with people like Linus at the helm. THAT would fix it!

Re: It's not rocket surgery

you know, I may know the origin of the phrase "It's not rocket surgery" from a radio talk show host (a lady) a few years back, Ladonna Harvey. [she's currently on the morning show on KOGO in San Diego]

That being said, if you EVAR listened to her show, saying something about how 'incredibly weird' a virtual hug is would be ironic, at the very least.

In any case, what isn't "rocket surgery" is how WRONG these easily offended "bully snowflakes" are, that want to FORCE everyone else around them into making "safe spaces" for them (and all of their SJW targets), most likely because THEY (the 'bully snowflakes') will FEEL so much better about themselves FEEL important, FEEL like they're "doing something good" yotta yotta.

In other words, it's ALL about *FEEL* and *SELFISHNESS* and *SMUGNESS* and being a SOCIAL IRRITANT SJW.

They can *ALL* BITE MY HAIRY NAKED ASS! [that works best when said in 'Bender's voice from Futurama]

Re: What is a 'hug' ?

"what kind of a world is it where such casual friendship can only come from a different species!"

dogs don't have attorneys

Re: What is a 'hug' ?

"Well, arent you special?"

Good one! have a beer!

Re: What is a 'hug' ?

"understand the nuances"

It seems that no matter what you say/write, a bunch of the readers will see nuances where none exist. So I just don't give a rat's ass HOW people might interpret things, and just say what I want.

Given that techno-geeks are probably the ones saying/doing the allegedly 'offensive' things, consider this: Geek and 'sciencey' types typically aren't "feelies". AND, early in THEIR lives someone (a feelie) probably tried to force-feed them Ritalin or diagnosed them with 'Ass-burgers' or treat them like OUTCASTS and blame THEM for how they were treated, and were amateur-diagnosed as having some kind of autism-spectrum disorder, and were told ALL OF THEIR LIVES that "something was wrong with them".

In other words, the SMARTEST people in the world simply REALIZE that all of this "emotional quotient" *CRAP* is nothing more than the RESULT of a bunch of SELF-CENTERED WIMPS telling the REST of the world to "not offend THEM", and SHIFTING THE BLAME out of SELFISHNESS or something worse. I guess it makes them ('teh offended') *FEEL* important by being such a SJW about it. [feelings are SUCH a selfish thing, ya know?]

Regarding the expected downvotes: thank you. In my world, you're proving my point.

"People shouldn't be intentionally and gratuitously offensive"

I disagree with THIS part. I *REFUSE* to go around *AFRAID* to be myself because some FEELING SNOWFLAKE is always passive-aggressive-bullying EVERYONE ELSE AROUND HIM to "not offend".

Joke 'em if they can't take a FEEL! They can BITE MY HAIRY NAKED ASS!!! I mean, what're they gonna DO about it, "beat me up"? Good luck with THAT. I'd probably invite their fair-weather "friends" to watch, and even PARTICIPATE! I haven't beaten on a gang in quite some time... might be fun! [I use THIS comparisons because they're just acting like wimpy kids on the playground, so if you confront them with it, it's fun to watch the meltdown].

It's a fair bet that these over-sensitive easily offended snowflake types have *NEVER* been through *ANYTHING* even *REMOTELY* resembling a *REAL* *CRISIS*. Or even BOOT CAMP, like having a drill sergeant screaming that classic phrase 2 inches from your nose: "What is your MAJOR MALFUNCTION, NUMB-NUTS?" Because, if you can't handle THAT, you can't handle combat. You can't handle a crisis without melting down. That's why they do that to you in boot camp. It weeds out the 'snowflakes'.

and...

"there's also a responsibility not to be over-sensitive or to look for offence where it wasn't intended, and certainly not to take offence on behalf of someone else."

For THAT, sir, YOU deserve a BEER! Hence, icon.

ah, yes, the flame warriors.

I'm usually Evil Clown like at LEAST half of the others who post comments on El Reg.

Re: Oh my fucking gawd/ess ...

CLEARLY, there is a bunch of way-too-vocal WIMPS out there who "FEEL" too much and waste time with these 'codes of conduct' when they should be WRITING CODE.

I use FreeBSD because it's a developer's OS. But Snowflakes gotta act like overly senstive self-focused navel-gazers wanting their safe spaces because they can't handle ANY amount of stress. They need a nice BOOT CAMP and a REAL crisis or two to adjust their attitudes. Once they realize that their own personal feelings aren't the most important thing on the planet, they'll GROW THE HELL UP and stop acting like CRY-BABIES!

The e-waste warrior, 28,000 copied Windows restore discs, and a fight to stay out of jail

Re: Linux Mint is free

"Replacing Windows with Linux is still paying for Windows"

apparently NOT in this case, as including a 'recovery disk' was apparently a license violation. That sort of implies that the license key is no longer valid for the "junk" computer. But rather than just ship a machine that has no recovery disk, it would have been better (from a legal standpoint, especially) to put Linux on it and let people re-install windows later [using the key that's printed on the label] if they really wanted to.

So there ya go.

Re: Oh, come on

"What happened to common sense in courts"

you and I both know the answer. It was corrupted by activists, lawyers, and "the system" in general.

Teensy plastic shields are the big new thing in 2018's laptop crop

Re: Webcam Shield?

band-ade is good, too. get a thin finger band-ade and it doesn't cover part of the screen (just the camera hole).

Re: @Lee D

"Your disk must be swapping all day long with only 4Gb on a modern OS running even basic Office and Chrome for any significant working day."

not if you're running Linux or FreeBSD. I use VMs with <2G with those all of the time. And I've got an old Linux box (that I test certain things on) with less than 1G on it. runs fine.

When you say 'modern' - I don't think that word means what you think it means. What it definitely does NOT mean: BLOATWARE (and, especially, Win-10-nicf).

icon because: Linux runs on systems with <1Gb RAM and doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

Farts away! Plane makes unscheduled stop after man won't stop guffing

Re: it is not something you do deliberately!

"one of my mates [snip] could fart at will and for extended periods. Eleven seconds was his record fart"

I dunno if I've done 11 seconds, but I've been known to do something similar to the "Le Petomaine" act and fart out "shave and a haircut" - and if there's any leftovers I get the "two bits" in as well. Unfortunately can't do it "at will" but with MY typical 'old fart' gas production levels, it's frequent enough that it might as well be.

heh

"About time scientists got off their lazy duffs and produced a "Satan's Breath" potion"

Habaneros with pinto beans in curry? Follow this with rice pudding and plenty of raisins. Add lecithin for an extra kick.

Re: Hang on a minute...

"Oxygen and methane, what could possibly go wrong."

how about:

'Yuck, I can STILL smell it - let's light a match to get rid of the smell...'

"The bull wouldn't have fitted into a seat."

based on the dimensions of certain passengers (who apparently DO fit into a seat) this may simply require the purchase of an additional ticket...

And, maybe the airline should offer some complimentary Gas-X, have the stewardi carry around a spray can of Fabreze, and/or drop the emergency air masks in cases of high 'gas' activity.

After all, an elderly passenger may have IBS or some OTHER "complication" (too many beans) which requires the rest of the world to "accomodate" the "disability". And the intestinal pressure may be SO great, that holding it in can cause an *EXPLOSION*. Oh wait, that reminds me of a South Park episode...

Opportunity knocked? Rover survives Martian winter, may not survive budget cuts

Re: Give it away.

"I am sure there is some group of organisation that would be happy to keep it moving around, and sending back data."

interesting idea! crowdfunding!

Oracle open-sources DTrace under the GPL

Re: Someone has to say it.

"the knowledge that Linux is truly the One True OS"

Yeah, yeah, and the Book of Linux was translated from assembly language written on golden disk platters using a pair of GNU tools inside Linus' favorite hat. And, because of the burning in our monitors, we must _BELIEVE_ !!! [and when I look into that burning image I can see the image of J.R. Dobbs]

(I couldn't pass up THIS opportunity!)

Re: Open source tools

yeah, that "license incompatibility" thing and "purity" for distribution _WITH_ the kernel, like some kind of religious requirement or something.

This, of course, never means that someone couldn't create a package that you could install on a particular Linux distro, or even include it with a distro as a "non-Free" package [like Debian derivatives might be inclined to do, although it appears they don't].

Nor does it stop anyone from doing a 'build from source' install.

This sounds an awful lot like the "problems" associated with ZFS on Linux. Has _THAT_ even been fully resolved?

Linux' licensing "requirements" have bothered me for a while. It's one of many reasons I use FreeBSD for my primary desktop and server OS, rather than Linux.

Still, a welcome change from Oracle with the GPL license. As for me, I like "dual licensing" things instead. That way you can ship your derived version as GPL, _OR_ "some other license" (say MIT or BSD license), your choice. This avoids having to 'cave' to the GPL way of thinking, while simultaneously allowing it. Yeah, options. Freedom IS a good thing!

Microsoft reveals 'limitations of apps and experiences on Arm' – then deletes from view

Re: Seriously?

and I'm not sure how any of this is a problem... it's almost like they're NO LONGER saying that ARM has certain limitations... [did they FIX some broken things on ARM?]

Worst thing that COULD happen: the limitations in question now apply to x86...

Mueller bombshell: 13 Russian 'troll factory' staffers charged with allegedly meddling in US presidential election

Re: @unwarranted triumphalism

"or are you a couch misogynist"

by accusing someone who disapproves of Mrs. Clinton of being a 'couch misogynist', you are making a ridiculous accusation, and in so doing, are basically 'crying wolf' with the 'misogyny' label.

Doing that sort of thing with unwarranted accusations of 'racism' 'misogyny' 'sexism' 'whatever-phobia' etc. etc. etc. all detracts from *REAL* cases where people are truly bigoted and then actively abuse or discriminate against others based on their bigotry [which any sane person would not want to happen].

These words (like 'misogynist') are so commonly weaponized by "the left" that it's become nothing more than a continuous shrill whine. Oh great, the "M" word again. *facepalm*

the term 'racist' was often used for the same *kinds* of reasons when the previous president was being criticized or simply disagreed with. It sucks, because I've seen *real* racism, in N. Carolina, in the mid 1960's, because segregation was the law there. And I think racism was often taught to the next generation. Not so much, any more.

similar things regarding REAL misogyny.

Re: I'm Confused Still

"just maybe not readable by an American."

this exchange amuses me. popcorn?

"To which warning the FBI paid (apparently) no heed"

Actually it sounded a bit poetic, maybe even Shakespearean, to me. But it could explain why a lot of US'ians don't understand the wording of the 2nd Ammendment, either...

[I sort of grew up watching Monty Python a lot, and reading books by British authors, so I got used to British-isms at a young age - I even knew what 'Guy Fawkes' day was, more or less, something a lot of US'ians don't know much about, but never really understood the rules for Cricket]

Re: I'm Confused Still

"That is a psychological operation, propaganda, that cynically trades on the general poor state of the average intellect"

Unfortunately, 'critical thinking' is no longer taught in English classes in U.S. schools, to the best of my knowledge. It was when _I_ was in High School (thanks, Mrs. G, your class was very helpful! I still owe you a drink from the last H.S. reunion, too)

People who have been taught to read between the lines don't easily fall for the false-advertising, hype, bandwagon techniques, truth-twisting, and outright lying you see in the average political campaign (and in too many cases, commercial advertisements). Is it any wonder that gummint-run schools won't teach kids to filter all that out? You can't be manipulated easily if you can THINK FOR YOURSELF, after all.

Propaganda is as old as politics and advertising. It was exploited in Nazi Germany to get the people to "approve" of all KINDS of heinous things, and is STILL exploited in places like N. Korea. That doesn't make propaganda inherently evil, except for the lying and truth-twisting parts. It could be simply informing people of the truth, in which case it's STILL propaganda, just not evil or necessarily manipulative.

Anyway, my $.10 on that part. Sadly, emotional manipulation happens every time there's an election in the USA, and it seems that at least half of the voters fall for it. These people need to stop "FEELING" and start THINKING instead.

Re: Bombshell?

"after a year of investigation this is the best they could come up with"

Well, Mueller had to come up with "something, dammit!" based on a year and a few million dollars' worth of taxpayer money... because an (apparent) witch-hunt against Trump would've ultimately been political suicide.

Still, I'm glad this much came out of it. OK we have some bank fraud charges now "following the money" and a handful of Russian names to go along with it. OK it takes time to make the case on this, and so you could say that the investigators HAVE "been busy", and it's NOT "just political" and that's the image we're supposed to see. Meanwhile FBI and DOJ are under the scrutinizing eye of Congress' oversight committee.

It's best to be well behaved when the focus of scrutiny is on your departments. And I don't mind. I think it's totally fair that Mueller has done this. Now, can he wrap up and finish and stop wasting spending MORE taxpayer money?

Re: Wonderful timing!

"Good job Bob. Well done. Have a cookie."

And I appreciate the sarcasm as well.

Actually, I was comparing Mrs. Clinton's alleged election fixing re Bernie Sanders, based on 'hacked' DNC e-mail contents and the various things that came out of it. It seems to many of us that the Demo-rat party was simply having 'token opposition' to Mrs. Clinton, in a sort of "it's her turn" moment. Republicans did this with Bob Dole when Mr. Clinton was president. And also, I believe, Mitt Romney when he ran against Obaka.

So it's not unusual for a U.S. political party to (effectively) 'coronate' a candidate this way.

And that comparison goes to Putin as well, with "only token opposition" so he can have someone to run against...

If you hate Trump, or hate what Russia (apparently) did during our elections (i.e. burn candle at both ends to create chaos), you have to at least admire that BOTH political parties were upset, overturned, shaken up, etc. when he got elected. And that's always a GOOD thing.

Take *THAT*, "establishment" !!! The *PEOPLE* want to govern THEMSELVES!

@AC - you have a point. When your enemy takes out your other enemy, you sit back and watch.