* Posts by bombastic bob

10507 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015

Creators Update gives Windows 10 a bit of an Edge, but some old annoyances remain

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Creators Update?

"wake me up when the "Power Users & Privacy Advocates Update" comes out ..."

compared to YOU, Rip van Winkle will look like an INSOMNIAC when you consider how long you'd be asleep before THAT happens. Heh.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: LTSB is the only version I would let anywhere near me

All other Windows 10 editions can FOAD

fixed. you're welcome.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

"Option to install apps from Store only"

And next version, it will be "Option to be able to install non-store apps."

Next will be:

a) Option to allow Win32 API applications to work [followed by complete blockage, "signed" UWP-only from "the store" only]

b) Option to allow compiling from source on your own computer [followed by "disallow this renegade behavior"]

c) Option to keep your existing version without paying a subscription, followed by (you guessed it) monthly rental of the PRIVILEGE of using Win-10-nic on YOUR computer.

d) Option to allow ANY! OTHER! OPERATING! SYSTEM! on ANY! hardware upon which Windows could _POSSIBLY_ run. Then (you guessed it) the Micro-shaft Monopoly

time to abandon Micro-shaft, for "a proper operating system" without "allow you" nor "prevent you" in it.

(see icon for what I'm recommending, k-thx)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Auto Wastebasket purging based on date?

I usually rename 'Wastebasket' or 'Trash' or whatever, using a Navy term.

Back in the 3.1 era I had a shareware application called 'Toilet' that would flush, with (poorly done) animation and sound effects. when items were in it, the water was green [and of course the lid was up]. otherwise it was blue. And the lid would slam shut during the flush process, just because.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Joke

Re: WS_EX_TOPMOST

"I hear the next version of UWP brings back CGA graphics compatibility."

To go with the 'worse than Windows 1.0' 2D FLATSO FLUGLY no doubt. We don't *NEED* more than 4 colors!

Microsoft wants screaming Windows fans, not just users

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: I have a Win10 laptop

naw, ME is better than 10. It's not 2D FLATSO FLUGLY and lets you change colors, etc. and doesn't have the Metro 'Settings' nor "the Start Thing" nor the SPYWARE nor the ADWARE...

and I think it consumes LESS CPU to do simple things like render to the screen.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Gimp

Re: Never had an issue...

you forgot the icon (I'll do it for ya, heh heh heh)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: 'If you want to influence MS you probably have a better chance joining the insider programme'

"That only works if you believe they'll listen"

ACK. they don't.

FYI I tried to influence Win-10-nic early on by joining the insider program months before Win-10-nic hit the shelves. The end result is that I was threatened with a ban (along with MANY others who were equally vocal and many were banned from the insider forum), not for "TOU" violations (which I was careful to avoid), but (apparently) they were JUST tired of me pointing out all of the flaws, repeatedly, and with great "enthusiasm" (in order to get them FIXED) and looking for an excuse to GET RID OF ME. You know, things like going into detail about the spying and adware, the _FACT_ that 3D appearance is preferred 2:1 over 2D FLATSO, the FACT that "the Metro" Settings just LOOKS BAD and adds confusion to configuring the system, that the uber-thin window borders and default light blue on bright white is HARD! TO! READ! for OLD! EYES! [making it an "assistive technology" issue, right off the bat], yotta yotta yotta.

I was "pooping their party" with simple things like THE TRUTH.

But, obviously (now) THAT EFFORT was just "spitting into the wind" because Micro-shaft *ONLY* listens to the fanbois any more! And, they seek to SHUT UP and BAN everyone else. It's obvious, because they _DID_ _JUST_ _THAT_ !!!

"Instead we need to pressure shoppers who go into stores to demand Linux or just walk out."

Well, that is unfortunately NOT the right tactic, though I don't DISagree with you.

The right tactic, unfortunately, would cost a lot of money. It would involve a MARKETING CAMPAIGN for desktop Linux, along with software vendors of major products that are willing to produce LINUX VERSIONS so people can still use their favorite software on the new Linux machines. [in the case of Intuit products, I think they're already using JAVA so it would be somewhat simple, you'd think...]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Windows makes me scream too

"I've got 3 W10 boxes and my wife has 1."

you have my sympathy, pity, and condolences.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Maybe...

"If they would just keep the appearance the way it is"

NO. Back to 7 or XP or even 2k or the '98 look for me. I *HATE* 2D FLATSO FLUGLY THE METRO!

"But MS keep forcing me to use Linux"

ACK on _that_ one.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

lately their attitude has been utter contempt for their own customers.

and that pretty much sums it up!

Robots are killing jobs after all, apparently: One droid equals 5.6 workers

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

Re: Analysis?

The mistake is trying to "make someone into someone else". THAT choice belongs to the individual.

Does anyone pity the poor "buggy whip" makers, when the automobile displaced the horse? Or livery stable operators? Or how about when computers took over BANKING, and you no longer needed rooms full of 'calculators' with adding machines? Yeah, it's a lot like THAT.

In a free society, individuals are responsible for their own destinies. No need to read 'extra stuff' into THAT one. no need to "retrain them" either. Let people retrain THEMSELVES, relocate to where the work is, and be responsible for their own lives. And that's how it SHOULD be.

Besides, we ALL know that cheap labor in China (and other places) is taking away the low-skill domestic manufacturing jobs anyway. I'd just as soon see robots do that level of work, with domestic employees building (and/or maintaining) the robots (at a higher wage).

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

Re: jobs aren't entitlements

no, I just want gummint out of the way, a total "free market" system, and for the SJW's to just STOP it with the "bull-roar". FYI everybody 'works' so all of us are 'workers', even CEOs and bankers. It's why I use the term "employee" because it's not an SJW or Marxist term.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

jobs aren't entitlements

"When those jobs are totally automated, where are people like that supposed to find employment?"

I guess they better think about retraining, etc..

It's like if you own a business and your products aren't selling. What to do? Cry about it? Gummint bailout?

Typically a business will change its marketing strategy, lower its prices, offer something better, yotta yotta to retain the business and stay alive.

it is the same if you are an EMPLOYEE. YOU are "the business" now. YOU must MARKET your skills, and make them worth paying you for. A job is NOT an entitlement, it is not a right, it is not deserved. It is an exchange of WORK for MONEY, at whatever the market rate is.

In other words, even as an EMPLOYEE, you have a product (your labor) and a price (your wage), and your CUSTOMER (your boss) determines whether or not he wants to PURCHASE your services. The only thing that is owed is the cost of the services rendered.

So yeah, when you think about it THAT way, each person is responsible for his OWN situation when it comes to jobs, etc.. I mean, as a contractor, I deal with that ALL of the time. Why can't EVERYONE ELSE deal with that, too?

Alabama joins anti-web-smut crusade with mandatory opt-out filters

bombastic bob Silver badge
Childcatcher

moralists... go fig'

typical of moralists, to propose restrictive regulation on something they don't understand at all

(if it were demo-rat moralism, they'd be whining about "fairness" and politically correct speech - both are equally wrong and should be lampooned and pointed out as the really stupid things they are)

Firefox Quantum: BIG browser project, huh? I share your concern

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

give us back the old-fashioned menus

"I just wish they'd go back to the drawing board and quit fucking with the UI. Maybe give us back the old-fashioned menus."

100 thumbs up for that!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Surprised that speed is still an issue

The millenial ADULT-CHILDREN, who view everything through social media on a 4-inch screen, had way too much influence on the project. Fat-finger-friendly spacing, hamburger menus, all of that. BLEAH.

If I want to view a PDF file I'll download it first and use 'evince'. That should be an easy option to set up. But it's not.

(yeah I have my list o' plugins, too)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: a bare-bones web browser that has no JavaScript

noscript plugin and cookie blockers. that should do it.

Cheap, flimsy, breakable and replaceable – yup, Ikea, you'll be right at home in the IoT world

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Why?

"Do you really believe crooks are so stupid they fear some light bulbs on?"

yes. google "dumb crook file"

(actually not FEAR, more like "not an easy target" - that is the logic)

/me leaves some lights on 7/24, and you can never know whether I'm home or not (at a glance).

Trump's America looks like a lousy launchpad, so can you dig Darwin?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

Re: Kenya?

I think Panama would be a better choice. A bit more stable, centrally located, close to the Equator...

Douglas Coupland: The average IQ is now 103 and the present is melting into the future

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

"No wonder most people seem stupid."

this will get me *hated* by many, but it's true: when you have an I.Q. that is high enough, EVERYBODY in the 100 range looks "about the same" to you, quite possibly anyone between 85 and about 120. You get used to dealing with people in this range, and probably treat them with reasonable respect, though you might get really intolerant at times. (and of course, 100 being average, there's as many BELOW 100 as ABOVE it, and chances are, if you're in this forum, you're above, and maybe WAY above, the average of 100).

But of course, someone with a 120 I.Q. would CERTAINLY recognize someone with an 85 I.Q. as being "not as smart", maybe even slightly ~handicapped~.

Kinda makes you wonder, ya know?

(ever read 'Flowers for Algernon'? Or see the movie 'Charlie' that was based on it? At both ends of the I.Q. spectrum Charlie was equally isolated, but when he was at the low end, he wasn't unhappy about it)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Boffin

Re: IQ tests

"teaching to the test."

Surprisingly, I've seen specialized military schools that LITERALLY do this. reason? You're supposed to MEMORIZE all of the information that will be on the test. They throw information at you at a speed that causes a dropout rate of up to 50%, and expect you to maintain a good average (or be placed on 'mandatory study hours' to get you back on track). And you can't even be accepted into the school unless you are in the top few percentile of intelligence. Oh, they 'teach to the test' allright. And your notes are part of that. If you study your notes, which can't leave the building [because they're classified], you should be able to pass the test. It's actually testing your ability to absorb information and retain it, as well as understand it, explain it, and recognize normal vs abnormal equipment behavior when you're operating the *kinds* of gear this school is oriented towards.

(the course was designed by M.I.T. if I remember correctly, a crash course in nuclear physics, materials science, basic chemistry, mathematics, and general power plant engineering - I graduated something like 10th in my class, 2nd highest overall for my rating, only because I'm lazy and didn't want to be #1 because it requires too much work)

I suggest that "teaching to the test" isn't a bad idea, not if you mix it with "the reasons behind the answer" and get the students to think and remember effectively.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Automation

"Right, so when is the Computer Revolution going to give us another couple of days off?"

telecommute, and it's whenever you want to [within reason of course]. I happen to like finishing up the week on Sunday evening, and taking Mondays (mostly) off. And maybe Tuesday. etc.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Evolution until someone pulls the plug

"Given climate change and the threat to Life As We Know It,"

wouldn't THAT make average I.Q. go DOWN? for actually BELIEVING it? (I could NOT resist, heh)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Joke

average vs median. it's all lies, damn lies, and statistics

bombastic bob Silver badge
Boffin

Re: "We are now constantly connected and hungry for data..."

"Overall, people are less capable of rote memorization"

just as well, since THAT is probably the DUMBEST way to memorize things (by rote? YUCK!!!), unless you have a completely linear way of thinking.

Non-linear minds, like for engineers, artists, musicians, and create people in general, really don't work "that way". If you have a non-linear mind and want to memorize, use a "key" that's easy to remember, and associate that 'key' with what you want to memorize. There are many techniques that are well described, but your brain and your memory (particularly non-linear minded people) work like a database, where the 'key' is something that's associated with the things you want to remember. 'Keys' are associated with items, events, emotions, humor, fear, doing an activity, and so on. (and if you remember the key, you remember the things associated with that key. So simple!)

As an example, let's say you want to memorize a shopping list. We'll use your own body as an example. We will have 8 items to remember: Eggs, milk, ground beef, pork chops, broccoli, cheese, coffee, and oatmeal.

Think of eggs broken on top of your head. Then think of milk up your nose (or in your eyes). You're chewing on a WHOLE COW, to grind that meat into hamburger. And you're wearing pork chops around your neck. Looks kinda stupid, doesn't it? Next, you've got BOOBS made of BROCCOLI! don't forget the pasties, as they're made of CHEESE. Then, someone stuck a bunch of COFFEE in your UNDERPANTS, and finally, you're standing in a BIG PILE of OATMEAL.

OK - here's the test (cover up the above):

a) on top of your head is:

b) your nose has:

c) you're chewing:

d) you're wearing what around your neck?

e) what's on your chest? [2 items]

f) someone stuck what in your underpants?

g) what are you standing in?

Apply as you like. Good technique for NON-LINEAR (i.e. CREATIVE) minds. At one point, the CREATIVE, who couldn't just 'memorize by rote', were considered, uh, DEFICIENT, because they had some kind of DEFICIENCY - you know, ATTENTION DEFICIENCY [something WRONG with THEM]. OK my agenda is showing. The best and brightest of us don' learn by rote, WILL NOT learn by rote, because it's not only BORING it is NAUSEATING.

But a technique such AS the one I mentioned above, which is far more taylored to a non-linear mind, may be the difference between a 2-digit IQ and a 150 IQ, when properly applied and practiced. Yeah, think about THAT one.

I do think the world is becoming more non-linear, though. I base this on the fact that "the geeks" will inherit the earth that is basically run by computers with intelligent humans driving them. And computer-human interaction nearly always requires non-linear thinking to be successful.

Yeah, back to the topic at hand, "what is I.Q. exactly" and if it IS going up, I think it's because of what I just said.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: "We are now constantly connected and hungry for data..."

" I think humanity as a whole is getting dumber and dumber thanks to companies like Google, Facebook etc."

I agree that the world as a whole is getting dumber, but for different (philosophical) reasons. think politics. yeah. And you'd probably downvote me. So now you know without me saying another word...

Why do GUIs jump around like a demented terrier while starting up? Am I on my own?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: You hit it Dabbsy

"Who decides theses stupid new GUIs that are either extreme of like newspaper or SciFi?"

CHILDREN decide this. More explicitly, MILLENIAL CHILDREN, aka the "4 inch" crowd, who live with their parents until they're 30+, and view EVERYTHING on a 4 inch phone screen. They are generally content CONSUMERS, not content creators, consuming Facebook and other social media like tobacco, and FEELING instead of THINKING. [there are some exceptions to this rule, but it's a generational nightmare shift from hell that's behind a LOT of this].

It's "their turn" now, and THEY are going to have things THEIR way, since all of the previous generation has either retired or gone on extended vacation or something (so not enough of "us" left to STOP it). CHANGE is always GOOD to them, even if it's change for the WORSE. And there's NO CHOICE, either, for THEY are "the elite" and know BEST. They will SHOVE it up your down your throat!

anyway THAT is who "decides". Am I right or what?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: Strangely enough ...

" have indeed used Linux. Mint is nearly there but the graphical style and feel is a little bit lacking."

did you try the Mate desktop?

"Ubuntu is horrible as are plain Gnome and KDE"

Ubuntu/Unity you mean? yes, it's like Windows APE meets MeeGo. KDE is an acquired taste, I must admit. And gnome 3 is *REALLY* sucky, which is why _I_ use Mate.

You needed to give Linux a better chance. Try going in with the knowledge that the default desktop for the distro is probably NOT the one YOU want. And Mate seems to have most of that ironed out, in my opinion. It was forked from Gnome 2 by developers who *DISLIKED* the direction things were going a few years back, which ended up giving us Unity, Windows "Ape", Win-10-nic, and (the real offender) Gnome 3. I'm in agreement with them. Had they not done it, I would have probably done it myself. (Linus became very angry about gnome 3 and went with a more lightweight version, LXDE I think, and you can install that one, too).

most of these desktop options will be available to you as a package, and then the startup/login screen should let you pick from the window managers you've installed [if it's using something like gdm anyway].

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Application Arrogance

"The bigger evils in my book are applications who believe they're so super important that they have to raise themselves to the foreground and/or insist on stealing focus from the entire desktop."

I used to call that "Arrogance of the Application" or "Arrogance of the Software Developer". There were several key entries in the qualifications for such a description. If I listed them all it would be TLDR. Most of them describe Win-10-nic.

And of course, having to resolve externals for 400 shared libs while dancing a splash screen around your monitor (for more than a few seconds) would qualify as ONE of those "application arrogance" qualifiers...

[2 words: static linking. solves MOST load time problems, as well as midnight phone call problems when some stupid freeware CRapp (or windows update) updates shared libs and breaks YOUR application and it's YOUR fault now]

DNA-bothering eggheads brew beer you were literally born to like

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

"For 25 grand you could just buy a hell of a lot of beers and see which one you like the taste of."

or spend a lot of evenings at a local 'craft beer' cafe tasting the many microbrews they have available. As I recall, one such place in my area used to have 100 different beers available, and even had a card you could fill out to indicate which ones you've already tried...

Bloke whose drone was blasted out of sky by angry dad loses another court battle for compo

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: Guns...

or maybe Frickin' Lasers to take out the cameras

The drone owner shouldn't be spying on little girls anyway. After all, what kind of world is it when a (presumed) teenage girl can't sunbathe in her back yard...

[so why am I thinking of Bathsheba at the moment?]

(pellet and BB guns would work, too, but with somewhat limited range)

'Windows 10 destroyed our data!' Microsoft hauled into US court

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: About time

and an entire SERIES of articles here on El Reg, pointing out the hypocrisy of Micro-shaft's claims.

"had a choice" to NOT upgrade. In some cases, closing the dialog box UPGRADED you WITHOUT choice. "Not now" was the only "choice".

Blinking cursor devours CPU cycles in Visual Studio Code editor

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

Re: The solution -

"Because a good IDE makes you much more productive"

which is why I've been working on one, off and on, for several years [using native X11, meaning a simplified C language toolkit to manage basic UI elements]. money would make it go faster.

Until then, there's pluma (or gedit on gnome 2) for the code, gimp for graphics images, and 'whatever tool' (including hand-coding) for HTML and dialog layouts. When you look at the older Visual Studio versions, where hot-keys quickly got you to the thing you needed to change something on a dialog box (or add a variable, let's say), the IDE _WAS_ more productive. Since 2000-something, though, it's gotten all "property sheets" and "mousie-clickie-mousie-clickie" where it JUST! GETS! IN! THE! WAY!!!

in short: if you have to remove one hand from the keyboard to operate a mouse more than a few times per hour, there's something wrong with the IDE.

And DevStudio is one of the _WORST_ at that (post DevStudio '98 anyway)

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: but but but

"It's slow and not very useful. I've tried it, but I wouldn't consider switching from Geany."

I just use pluma (or gedit if gnome 2 is installed). Works well enough, highlights code elements, few irritating features (other than having to occasionally strip ending white space off of code lines, but a lot of editors cluelessly let that happen these days...) and it DOES NOT HAVE PERFORMANCE ISSUES that I can tell (even in a VM).

Startup offers $10,000 to Silicon Valley techies … who will leave Bay Area

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Tech start up wants to move away from California..

"People moving out of California isnt new news, recently its started being described as a stampede."

I've been considering Texas for a while, now... still liking the weather in San Diego, paying the "sunshine" tax and dealing with "the !@#$%" coming out of Sacramento. So yeah, it's not "bad enough" quite yet [but close].

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: true motivations...

"the employee's disposable income is greater than had they been living in the aforementioned Bay Area closet"

this is WAY more significant than may be obvious.

a) "progressive" income taxation means you might have to DOUBLE someone's salary for him {proper grammar} to get an increase of 25% in actual post-taxation spendable income, more often the case at the high income end than at the low end, for sure.

b) When you factor the DOUBLED (or worse) living expenses in Silly Valley, it's even MORE outrageous of a difference, for sure.

In short, the extra cost of telecommuting could easily be offset by happier employees that are more productive, more dedicated, and get "just as much" spendable income at a LOWER COST to the company. It's a TOTAL WIN.

Why aren't more people doing this? IMPROVE that BOTTOM LINE, accountants, and AUTHORIZE MORE TELECOMMUTING!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: except

having the tech gear on hand in your home office, PLUS using FedEx to ship things around [as needed], might be a nice compromise. THAT, and some kind of V.R. system where you can set up informal meetings... (if it can be done for World of Warcraft...)

Can we learn to love AI and sex robots?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

unlimited fetish fuel and no manipulation nor lawyers

you'd think it would be a total WIN. For men, anyway...

(impatiently waiting - slobber, slobber, slobber)

We're 90 per cent sure the FCC's robocall kill plan won't have the slightest impact

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: My solution...

"Anyone making robo-calls gets taken out and shot."

starting with the POLITICIANS that EXEMPT THEMSELVES from anti-robo-call and "do not call list" legislation?

Ok I can always hope...

bombastic bob Silver badge
FAIL

Re: Spoofing ?

more like they'd have to upgrade their gear, which costs them money. Using an insecure protocol that CAN be spoofed is way cheaper, and lets them indefinitely sweep the problem under the rug.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: The rest of us are 100% sure it won't do a damned thing.

They have to make ALL robo-calls illegal, first. You know, like the ones from POLITICIANS...

(politicians NOT exempting themselves from robo-call restrictions - yeah THAT will happen)

I'm on the 'do not call list' and get several hangup calls per week. Part of this is my answering machine message which is something like "Hello... [pause] Friends and family thank you for calling. For the rest of you, this number is on the national do-not-call list" (and it ALWAYS goes to the answering machine)

It's amazing how many hangups happen after that message finishes. The 'hello' followed by the pause is deliberate - it's supposed to make their robo-dialers "detect an answer". Yes I'm screwing with THEM. Then, when a human hears "do not call list" he _SHOULD_ recognize the colossal waste of time of having my number on their lists. well, 'dumb and dumber' reference in the article notwithstanding...

Linux-using mates gone AWOL? Netflix just added Linux support

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: re: I have no interest in streaming or renting TV shows and movies

"they can come to terms with the fact that people like me will never stop pirating their content."

I was going to say something snarky, and then I decided it wouldn't make a difference...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pirate

Re: What hardware Intel and ARM?

" I would expect high quality ripping to be a problem for Netflix."

if it can be displayed on a TV screen, it can be ripped. You know, HDMI 'wye' adaptors, extra cables and a DVR. right? I could purchase the gear for under $200 on amazon.

but most people would just buy the DVD or Blu-ray when it comes out.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Linux

Re: >Awesome. Netflix is about to get another 3 customers...

ack on platform independence. This is THE NEXT roadblock removed for widespread Linux takeover on the desktop, while Micro-shaft sleeps in the Win-10-nic wheelhouse and fails to see the iceberg in time...

It's all good!

NASA to fire 1Gbps laser 'Wi-Fi' ... into spaaaaace

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Latency...

latency goes up when you use geosync satellites. best sync would be to multiple ground stations underneath the expected path of the ISS, almost like cell towers [with frickin' laser beams, OK couldn't resist either, heh]

really, though, a design of a laser with less than a 1 degree cone might do the trick, then have the response laser modulate the original "carrier" [i.e. reflect it back with interferometry involved, let's say]. targeting a laser within one degree shouldn't be too hard. existing weapons systems might already have similar capability...

whole point would be for the ground-based laser not only to send data, but to power up the received signal as well. A laser has a cone-shaped propagation pattern, more or less, and so disperses a little bit [especially from atmospheric interference]. Then it's just reflected back with modulation by the I.S.S..

yeah, it could work... (with frickin' laser beams)

If you were cuffed during Trump's inauguration, cops are trying to crack your smartphone

bombastic bob Silver badge
Big Brother

where's the George Soros connection?

waiting for proof that George Soros paid them to riot...

(could it be on their phones?)

Carnegie-Mellon Uni emits 'don't be stupid' list for C++ developers

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Good advice but

not using (...) and not allowing unsigned integers to 'wrap' is short-sighted...

the implications of 'printf'-like utilities, as well as gcc format checking pragma, were pointed out in the comments. But there are use cases for wrapping an unsigned integer, SUCH AS the calculation of a time interval on a 32-bit unsigned value that calculates milliseconds or microseconds, and wanting to schedule events based on elapsed time. When you EXPECT a wrap-around, you can code around it.

example:

uint32_t lTick = millis(); // # of milliseconds since start, using 32-bit unsigned value

...

if((int32_t)(millis() - lTick)) > my_interval) { do something; lTick += my_interval; }

this pretty much works universally, and is similar to what the Linux kernel does when scheduling things based on 'jiffies'.

(and in some cases I'll even truncate the math down to 16-bits to make code work faster, such as on a microcontroller like Arduino, where this example might be used a LOT)

so... maybe NO UNHANDLED unsigned integer wrapping?

(yeah a FEATURE, not a bug - I like to work WITH the system's limitations, not against them)

Good news, everyone! Two pints a day keep heart problems at bay

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: Careful wording in study

"Suggestive differences included that the lower risk of myocardial infarction in heavy drinkers was attenuated in current smokers"

so let's add some stats that include smoking as a factor, and see where THAT leads...

FYI niacin, vitamin B3, which is needed for proper nerve function and can help deplete excess cholesterol, is "nicotinic acid". However, nicotene from tobacco tends to plaque things out in your arteries (maybe because it's a similar yet distinct-enough chemical). So yeah, it's a factor that would very likely affect the benefits of alcohol for cardiovascular disease studies.

Now, I want a beer.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: A question

"What is the cause/mechanism that gives 'never drinkers' a worse outcome than moderate drinkers?"

it has things to do with arteriol sclerosis last I checked. Apparently small amounts of alcohol have a cleaning effect, like occasionally pouring some drain cleaner down the sink.

(taking niacin, using aspirin, and things like that are probably similar)

So do the combo - take niacin and aspirin every day as vitamin supplements, and then have a couple of beers in the evening to wash away the daily stress.